December 31st, 2005

WordPress 2.0

Posted by John Havlik in Announcements > General

I installed WordPress 2.0 today, after deleting some important files and having to figure out my database information I finally got it running. I had a temporary ‘Under Construction’ banner up, which is a preview of the skin that I’m working on today. Plan on there being outages later today and possible broken template layout/pages.

I also have this nice little Weblogs.us logo that I made that I’ll share

Weblogs.us Free WordPress Blog Hosting So this is it, 100% transparent PNG in all of it’s glory. Feel free to use this on your weblogs.us hosted WordPress blog. Leave a comment with your blog URL if you decide to use it, and if you wish to critique it just comment on it as well. Just right click and select ‘Save Image As’. Then select the destination on your computer to save it.

I love the backend improvements of WordPress 2.0. The blogging pane is much better. A lot of AJAX went into it and a really cool thing is that one is able to dynamically resize the size of the blog pane. Plus, the need to preview has been reduced since images and formatting can be automatically be displayed.

-John Havlik

[end of transmission, stay tuned]

December 4th, 2005

The North Face Men’s Dominant TriClimate

Posted by John Havlik in General

Finally, it’s coldish and there is snow here in Minnesota, which was a sudden reminder that I need a new winter coat. My old orange and navy blue Columbia Fire Ridge served me well for many years, well since seventh grade to be exact (do the math). The only problems with it are it’s now too small for me, two years ago I accidentally punctured it while running near a fence (a long story but I did repair the hole with some superglue), and it doesn’t have Omni-Tech (breathable waterproofing, similar to Gore-Tex.).

I initially wanted a Columbia Titanium series jacket but not a single store in our area handles the good Titanium jackets. There are several cheaper Titanium jackets which are, well, inferior. So we found ourselves in REI and they have tons of The North Face apparel and some Columbia stuff too, but not the good Titanium jackets. They have a 400 USD Deceptacon TriClimate jacket which is top of the line for what REI carries. There are about 5 or so better jackets produced by The North Face. There is also a 280 USD Vortex TriClimate jacket but it doesn’t fit right, for some reason the arm length on the right side is too short.

Today we went to a new Sports Authority which opened in EP. They have this Dominate TriClimate jacket which is made by The North Face and it is 300 USD list price but on sale for 250 USD. It fits correctly as did the Deceptacon and is much more moderately priced so I ended up with it. I haven’t really tested it yet but will soon. The only thing I can’t figure out is why The North Face doesn’t acknowledge its existence for a men’s variety. It is supposedly a women’s jacket name so then I tried to find out what it really was and why it was miss marketed. Sports Authority doesn’t have the jacket for men or women on its website so I’m back to square one. It appears to be directly based off of the Deceptacon but without the 200 USD liner (“Soft Shell”) that it has, and not as many internal pockets. But, all the other vitals are there, waterproof via HyVent (works the same as Omni-Tech/Gore-Tex) and the correct size.

-John Havlik

[end of transmission, stay tuned]

November 25th, 2005

I’ve Been Accepted

Posted by John Havlik in Announcements > General

Well I was wondering when I’d receive information from the UMN TC. I found a postcard that they sent me a few weeks ago, went online, and checked on my application status. To my surprise (well I knew I’d get accepted, it was just a matter of time), I was greeted with this message:

Congratulations! You have been admitted to the Institute of Technology. A letter was mailed on November 23, 2005 with additional information and your next steps.

So it looks like I’ll be attending the UMN TC next fall. I haven’t received that letter yet though.

-John Havlik

[end of transmission, stay tuned]

November 8th, 2005

Water and Socks

Posted by John Havlik in General

Water

Cold, heavy, squishy, slippery, wet, replenishing, and refreshing water is a runner’s friend and foe. It is a vital friend after a race or long run. During the hottest of days it’s the friend that helps one keep running. On the coldest days it helps keep a runner healthy and warm. Yet during a race water can be a runner’s greatest foe. Falling from the sky in various forms cooling a runner past comfort, adding the burden of more weight to increasing fatigue. Water collecting in the low lands on the course creates another obstacle for the runner to overcome.

Socks

Warm, dry, light, wicking, tight, comfortable and cool socks are essential tools for any successful runner. For a runner socks are the first defense against Mother Nature’s wrath. On the hottest days of the summer they keep one’s feet cool, and on the coldest days of the fall and winter they keep one’s feet warm. During the wettest of days socks keep a runner’s feet dry. They tightly cradle one’s foot reducing the chance for the development of blisters and enhancing comfort while racing.

-John Havlik

[end of transmission, stay tuned]

November 3rd, 2005

Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Comfort Edition

Posted by John Havlik in General

Well it arrived yesterday, two days late, all I can say is that it is much nicer than my old wave keyboard that had the broken ‘z’ key (yeay! my ‘z’ key works now). I don’t like the mouse that came with it, mainly because I love my Logitech TrackMan Marble Wheel mouse. I won’t give it up until the day it stops working. At that point, I’ll get a new one. A full review with pictures will come after I get to test it for a while.

-John Havlik

[end of transmission, stay tuned]