I like this idea. Passports with RFID chips. Great idea!

Read more here….www.indystar.com

Well, after many weeks of bouncing around the next big adventure I think I will give the UltraMarathon a go. I have been thinking this direction for quite some time, but have a little concern about injury. Training won’t be an issue because I am going to focus on a race that is quite a ways out…..like a year. I know that sounds crazy, but after reading many articles and reviews it seems necessary. In earlier posts I mapped out a few runs including Phoenix Half and San Diego Rock n’ Roll (again!) which are good goals to work towards. If I can complete SD in under 4hrs I will be prepared, in my mind, to take on the ultra distance. Training will be difficult. The summer months will be the best time to train due to my severe dislike of the cold. Anyhow, my focus right now seems to be on the Sunmart Trail Endurance Run 50 Miler. It is one of the biggest and draws over 1000 runners. I like this idea from the support perspective. I have read many reviews of endurance runs and ultras that have a guy at the “start” line who logs your number in a Mead notebook and then off you go. No water, no Gatorade, no nothin’! The Sunmart in Huntsville, TX (about 1 hour north of Houston) has many aid, water, and support stations. It is also a looped course that involves completing a total of 4×12.5mile loops. This gives you an opportunity to hit the stations and get supplies at each loop. Am I crazy?

While sitting down the other day to log onto my home wireless network I noticed a new wireless network available in the area. Of course I had to look into this a little more so I opened my handy NetStumbler program and bumped around the area. I ran across a few networks, but only the newest one ‘Netgear’ was WIDE open. I did not connect to the network, but could have and then sniffed traffic to grab whatever may be flowing through there. This could have included POP3 email, passwords, and general surfing activity. This is easier than you think!

I did notice that all the other visible networks were running some type of encryption even if it was the crackable WEP protocol, but still they had something. I was happy to see that. I was the only one running the much stronger WPA protocol and wondered why others didn’t use this method as it has become very available in home type access points. I think the password/passphrase setup may be a little confusing, but once set you rarely have to deal with it again.

I have been looking into www.hotspotvpn.com as an alternative to my current security measures I take while using a hotspot access point. Check it out and let me know if you use it. I would be interested to see how it affects traffic even if you use the lower VPN-1 128-bit encryption standard. I currently conduct a secure 256-bit connection between my laptop and my home server where I check and send email via my server instead of my laptop. This puts all data traffic on my wired network. While this works just fine, it is cubersome and it would be cool to open up a simple VPN connection (blocked to my server by my ISP! That’s Comcastic!) and then surf securely.

In reference to my post below about the Duke City Half Marathon…..Offical results are in.

Overall Place: 301
Bib #: 1903
Chip time: 1:55:22
Pace: 8:48
Division/Place: M 30-34/31
So I suppose that isn’t too bad. 31st place in my age division and 301st place overall with a total of 977 runners. Top 30% ????

http://www.stuffonmycat.com

I suggest looking at the “Food On My Cat” section!

<%image(20051023-dukecity.gif|450|60|Duke City Marathon 2005)%>

Ran Duke City Half Marathon this morning at 7:45am. Great day, nice weather. Touted as Albuquerque’s biggest, I wouldn’t doubt that the total amount of participants puts it at the top. There is a full marathon, half-marathon, and a couple of 5k events that draw both runners and walkers. Ok…my time…1:55:25 (unofficially). I will compare my watch time against chip time when the results are posted.

Next goal, which is already planned and booked, is Phoenix Rock n’ Roll. I have registered for the full marathon, but feel like I would rather run the half and improve upon my time at this level first. My first two marathons were a blast and I know the feeling that comes from finishing. Now it is all about speed. Goal time in Phoenix 1:44 or less! I have run this pace before, but slowed down recently with the higher marathon mileage. Should be able to get it back or faster. We’ll see………..

http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/new

A very simple to use and install PHP blog system. I am not using this software, but did test it. Seems to be easy enough and has some good features. Flat file system not requiring a database (for those of you afraid of MySQL!). Check it out SimplePHPblog.com

IMAGES REMOVED

The trees have been changing in all of northern New Mexico for the past month. I finally stepped outside and shot a couple of pics of the trees in my area. There are much more vibrant colors other places, but this will have to do.