I did it!

Last night I reached my goal in Wii Fit: my BMI is now 21.86 and I weigh 166lbs. This is down from a BMI of 26 and a weight of 200lbs when I started my new fitness “program” back in May.

It wasn’t all due to Wii Fit. Let’s face it: just buying a Wii Fit is probably not going to make you lose a lot of weight (Brian Lam over at Engadget came to the same conclusion). I also changed my eating habits, which was the hardest part. Mainly I became more “calorie-aware” and started a) eating less at meals, b) consuming less calories c) generally eating healthier. This meant getting a 6″ sandwich (no cheese or mayo) at Subway instead of a foot-long; or a salad at Wendy’s (with fat-free dressing and no croutons) instead of a spicy chicken sandwich and fries. I also found myself compulsively checking nutrition labels (which drove my wife crazy sometimes). You’d be amazed at the calorie counts on some things! I had to train myself to eat smarter so that I still felt “full” (or rather, satisfied) but wasn’t consuming thousands of calories in a single sitting. I also tried to be better about late-night snacking. All of this was really difficult at first, but once I was in the habit, it became a lot easier.

But aside from that, Wii Fit gave me the routine and structure I needed to get started on the path and is still helping to keep me on it. I can do a 20 minute free-run while watching a 30-minute show on TiVo (thanks to commercial skipping) and then a few other exercises in Wii Fit to round out a 30-minute execise session.

My first big challenge is coming up: the holidays! I reset my goal in Wii Fit to gain no weight in the next month … let’s see how that goes.

Ubuntu on the Eee

photo_112508_001-781456I had some free time over the long holiday weekend so I decided to experiment with running Ubuntu on my EeePC.

Out of the box, the Linux version of the Eee puts a simplified UI (called Easy Mode) on top of a stripped-down version of the Xandros distro. It also employs the unionfs file system which basically cuts your available storage capacity in half (which in a system with only a 4gb SSD is not much to begin with). Since getting the Eee back in April, I’d done a lot of tweaking and customizing in Easy Mode and had it working pretty well. Even my wife could boot up the Eee and get on the internet through an available WiFi hotspot when she needed to without any help. I’m never content to leave well enough alone, though, so I decided to give Ubuntu Eee a shot.

The “current” version of Ubuntu Eee is built on 8.04 (Hardy Heron) which is no longer the current Ubuntu release since 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) was released last month. However, a new version of Ubuntu Eee (due to be renamed due to trademark issues) is supposedly coming out on January 1, 2009.

First, I made a full image backup of my Eee using George Foot’s eeebackup utility. That way I could go back to my original configuration at any time (if necessary). I then downloaded the Ubuntu Eee ISO, extracted it to a USB thumb drive, and booted my Eee from that thumb drive to start the installation. The install was quick and simple and within an hour I had Ubuntu Eee up and running.

By default, Ubuntu Eee uses the Netbook Remix interface which is nice but too much like the old Easy Mode that I was trying to get away from, so I disabled it to get the true Ubuntu desktop experience. I also had to download and install a different madwifi driver specifically for my Eee model (the 701) to get wireless working. After that, I had the basic stuff all working.

Next up was installing my third-party applications, like TrueCrypt and JungleDisk: both installed smoothly using the default Linux versions from their respective web sites (no more having to compile TrueCrypt from source!). The next part was a little more complicated, but I was finally able to tether the Eee to my Treo 680 over Bluetooth using this handy guide from the Ubuntu Community documentation.

Booting takes a little longer than Xandros (about 50 seconds from the initial BIOS screen to Ubuntu’s login screen) but I can live with that. Also I now have about 1.4gb free on the SSD, roughly double what I had left under unionfs.

I still have some customizing and personalizing to do, not to mention familiarizing myself with Ubuntu as a desktop OS (I’ve really only used the command-line server version up until now), but so far switching to Ubuntu Eee seems like a good decision.

TiVo Mobile … finally!

New TiVo Mobile web site allows TV fans to browse, search, discover, and record television shows on the go, adding another great value to the already invaluable TiVo service

Announced by TiVo this morning (and picked up by most of the gadget blogs I read), you can now schedule recordings and browse TV listings from your mobile device. Yes, you could do this before by accessing TiVo Central Online from your browser-enabled phone, but it was clunky and not easy to navigate. I was able to use it a few times from my Treo to schedule a recording in a pinch, but it wasn’t my first choice.

Available in beta form today, simply point your mobile browser to m.tivo.com (it may or may not work for you, based on my experience and its beta status). Once I got the page to load, I was able to login with my TCO credentials and see my list of TiVos:

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Then I was able to search for a show:

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And schedule a recording:

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I ran into a few problems while trying out the new site. For example I had to sign in again after selecting “Record this episode,” Blazer (the Treo browser) kept complaining about an invalid security certificate, and my attempt to schedule a recording actually failed saying the show did not appear in my DVR’s guide data. But hey, it’s still beta, right?

Anyway, TiVo Mobile seems to have all the same functionality as TCO packaged in a nice-looking, usable mobile format, finally! Thanks, TiVo!

WIJFR: Salamandastron

As the inhabitants of Redwall relax in the haze of the long, hot summer, they are unaware that the neighboring stronghold of Salamandastron lies besieged by the evil weasel army of Ferhago the Assassin. Nor do they realize that Mara, beloved daughter of Urthstripe, Badger Lord of the Fire Mountain, is in terrible danger. But when a lightning bolt uncovers the sword of Martin the Warrior, young Samkin embarks on adventure that leads him to Mara, and their lives become inextricably entwined.

Book 5 of Brian Jacques’ Redwall series is “Salamandastron.” As before, my daughter and I started reading this together, but only got a few chapters in before she decided to go on without me, so once again I ended up reading this one on my own after she finished.

Despite following the now-familiar formulaic approach (which I detailed in my previous Redwall-related post), “Salamandastron” was a quick and fun read. If I had to pick, the badgers would be my favorite characters in the Redwall mythos, and there are quite a few of them in this book. Here’s the breakdown:

  • Ferhago the Assassin and his son Klitch, along with the horde of Corpsemakers are beseiging the mountain stronghold of the badger lord Urthstripe. Mara, a young orphan badger under the care of Urthstripe, runs away with Pikkle (a hare).
  • all is peaceful at Redwall as they prepare for their seasonal Nameday celebration until the sword of Martin the Warrior is stolen by two weasels; they are pursued by Samkin (a squirrel) and Arula (a mole maid).
  • shortly after they leave Redwall, an outbreak of Dryditch Fever spreads through the Abbey; Thrugg (an otter) and Dumble (a baby mouse) strike out north seeking the Icetor flowers, the only known cure for the disease.

Some more familiar groups make an appearance, like the guerilla shrews (another personal favorite), along with some new characters, like the hawks and eagles of the North (with their highland accents). Jacques does a nice job of establishing the three storylines and then weaving them together, tying the whole thing up in a neat package by the final chapters.

Chronologically, this book comes after “Mariel of Redwall” but before “Redwall.” Just like before, my daughter enjoyed being able to tie some of the characters and plotlines of “Salamandastron” into the other books. I’m amazed by her retention of characters, events, and details … she remembers the little things much better than I do. That could be because she is constantly re-reading these books. I told her that once we read all of the books (which could take a while, I think there are over 20!), she should re-read them in chronological order. 🙂

Next up: “Martin the Warrior.”

Netflix on TiVo

Announced in the current issue of the TiVo newsletter, Netflix integration will be available on the Series3 and THD boxes next month! If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you’ll be able to “instantly” stream movies from Netflix to your TiVo … for free.

I was a Netflix subscriber back in 1999 when I was still a traveling consultant. I would take the DVDs on the road with me to watch on my laptop and drop them in the mail as I finished each one. In those early days, you could go into your account on the Netflix web site and mark the movie as “I’ve mailed it back” and they would immediately ship the next one in your queue. That way when I got back home on Friday, a new set of DVDs would be waiting for me for my trip the next week. Once they switched to the “your next DVD doesn’t ship until we receive one back”-model, the service became less useful as there could be a week when I had no discs to take with me because they didn’t arrive by Saturday.

Once I switched jobs and stopped travelling, I just didn’t have the time to watch all of those movies, so I ended up cancelling my subscription and went back to the traditional Blockbuster rental method. Once Amazon Unbox (now called Amazon Video on Demand) appeared on TiVo, I started using that for the occasional movie rental. With Netflix coming to TiVo in December, though, I might have to consider re-subscribing.

Dropo is back!

Just in time for the holidays!

What timing … just last week I posted about the 20th anniversary of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and the (former) Best Brains’ current endeavor, “Cinematic Titanic.”

What should I find in my inbox this morning? An e-mail from CT announcing the release of “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,” a true holiday classic that includes a young Pia Zadora. Fellow MSTies will recall that the gang already riffed this particular “film” (if it deserves to be called that) back in 1991 (season 3, episode 21), the episode that gave us “A Patrick Swayze Christmas,” Tom Servo’s snow globe head, and introduced us to Dropo (“Oh, Dropo!”).

I can’t wait to purchase and download this latest incarnation … I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic.

Hooray for Santy Claus! (cha cha cha)

Bags on WiiWare – Released

Originally announced back in May, Target Toss Pro: Bags has finally been released on WiiWare!

I purchased it tonight for 700 Wii Points ($7) and gave it a quick run through. My first impression: wow, I suck. 🙂 I got a 4 in my first game, and a 7 in my second. I actually got one to slide into the hole for three points, but then later knocked a bag off the platform and lost a point. Most of the time I missed the box altogether … guess I need more practice.

You use the Wii remote similar to bowling in Wii Sports: hold down the A and B buttons, then swing your arm back and then forward, as if you were tossing the bean bag. Tilting the remote left and right controls the aim, and you can change the angle and style of throw as well (slide, bounce, flop). I’ve never played the coin-op, trackball version, so I can’t comment on how the original has been translated to WiiWare. I can see this being a cool party game as it supports up to 16 players!

Oh, and if I didn’t mention it, my little sister’s name is in the credits. 😉 She also designed the game’s web site.

An evening with TSO

For my birthday last month, my younger siblings got me tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert here in Tampa tonight.

If you listen to any Christmas radio, you’ve probably heard TSO standards like “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo” or “Wizards in Winter.” In fact, until tonight those were the only two songs by the group I had on my iPod. If you haven’t heard, or heard of, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, think Christmas music in the rock-opera style and you should have a good idea of what TSO is all about.

Not only was the music and singing fantastic, the light show and pyrotechnics were amazing. It was also cool to see the wide range of people at the show: couples, families, and folks of all ages. In fact, the two guys sitting next to me, drinking some beers and “woo!”ing during all the good parts looked like they belonged at the hockey game instead of a concert, but were having a great time like everyone else. You never would have pegged them as TSO fans if you ran into them on the street.

Overall, it was a cool experience and a nice way to start the upcoming holiday season. Time to hit up the Amazon MP3 store for some more tracks for the Christmas playlist!

Galleon 2.5.4 is out

John has released Galleon 2.5.4. Here’s what’s new, from the release notes:

  • Fix ToGo looping bug on null recording date (1811137)
  • Added user-selectable range for local radar image (100, 300, 600 miles) in Weather app
  • auto-subdirectory publishing for GoBack, avoids the need to do it yourself and also avoids bugs in TiVo folder navigation in older TiVo service releases (Series 3 and HD should be OK without this). (Probably needs some work to handle DOS shortcuts; should be OK on UNIX and OS X.)
  • XML parsing of recording meta-data for non-Galleon-created video files in GoBack areas. e.g. if you post-process .TiVo files into .mpg, just put the XML output containing the show details, in the same format as it comes from the TiVo, into a .xml file with the same prefix. If you use tivodecode to unwrap .TiVo files, the metadata are in the -02-0002.xml file generated with the -D (dump-metadata) option.
  • Enabled store-by-show handling in GoBack server (available on GoBack preferences pane).
  • Fix for linux Makefile (1815568) and init script for distro independence

The items in bold are things I’ve personally contributed to this release, like the user-selectable radar range.