Amplify and Posterous Blog

This blog has been neglected for so long. I was never really sure what it was for. Sharing news to family and friends or indulging my interest in Social Media, Gadgets and Technology. I recently stumbled upon Amplify which is a really cool way of grabbing web content and blogging it quickly. This will allow me to build a blog of the things that interest me as I browse the web. For people with similar interests to me this could be a fun thing to read. Mostly I'll just be performing a news aggregator type role rather than producing original content. Anyway rather than change this blog, I am posting my new Amplify stuff to http://techrunner.posterous.com/ or it can also be read directly on my Amplog found here: http://bicyclerunner.amplify.com/  Same content at both locations.

I will keep this blog but only really use it for content that will probably be of interest to family and close friends, namely news about holidays, running and cycling, new fun purchases etc. But I will only blog occassionally. So keep it bookmarked and check in once in a while but expect more frequent tech content on my posterous and amplog blogs.

Reeder iPhone App

Here's another great app that I nearly didn't buy. I use Google Reader and subscribe to about 20+ gadget and tech news RSS feeds such as Engadget, Gizmodo, Mashable to name a few. Through reading tech news "Reeder" kept coming up as the single best RSS feed reader for the iPhone. It cost me £1.79. 


Am I disappointed with my purchase? No I am not. It is genuinely excellent. Really well thought out and does what it needs to do very cleanly, stylishly and simply. I can consume great amounts of news very quickly and easily with this app. 


Why did I nearly not buy it? Simply because I was using Google Reader on my iPhone via the Google Mobile App. Essentially this just launches Google Reader in Safari on the iPhone. It works just fine and allows me to do what I need pretty much. However Reeder is so much nicer, more polished. What can I say? I'm really happy with it and would strongly recommend it to fellow RSS subscribers as an ideal product.


Post comments to let me know if you have this already and what you think of it? or if you buy it on the strength of my recommendation let me know your thoughts?

Angry Birds

I've been meaning to blog about this iPhone game for ages. I kept seeing it in the App Store and taking a quick look at the screen shots and the reviews. Despite it being number 1 game I just felt it wasn't going to be something I'd like. However so many people at work urged me to get it and said I'd love it that I took the plunge and spent my 59p. 


I have to say it's fantastically addictive. I mean seriously addictive!! You thought Doodle Jump was addictive but it's got nothing on this game. You pop on meaning to spend 5 minutes having a quick go but 1.5 hours later when your wife is getting really ticked off that you STILL have your head in your phone you reluctantly put it down. It's that addictive. Buy it today provided you have time on your hands. If your life is busy then maybe don't buy it cos it will take over ALL of your free time.

Who's Dented My Car?

There I was minding my own business enjoying the sunshine when I glanced across at my car and spotted a big dent in the drivers door. Unbelievable! Some scum bag has clearly opened their door into mine, left a great big dent and then driven off without an apology or a phone number so that they can pay for it.


It's a sad day when you realise the world is full of such low lifes.


Here's a photo but I'm not sure it shows the damage too well.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wonder Stuff Gig - Shepherds Bush Empire

Almost a year on from last years epic 20th anniversary of the first Wonder Stuff album "The Eight Legged Groove Machine" we were back to the Shepherds Bush Empire for the 20th anniversary of the "Hup" album. The band was the same line up as last time. There are only 2 original members but the new line up manage to bring back to life all the classic hits.


Jill and I went to Pizza Express before the gig and who should walk in but Malc Treece (the Wonder Stuff guitar  player for the benefit of those who wouldn't know). I didn't want to hassle him but after we'd finished our Pizza I went over and shook his hand and wished him well for the gig. He was very friendly and down to earth. Good man!.


The gig was fantastic. They raced through the Hup album using a new running order for the album that Miles explained was the way he'd always wanted the tracks to appear. The songs sounded great. The second half of the gig was loads of great songs from their back catalogue including such classics as "Here Comes Everyone", "Mission Drive", "Caught in my Shadow", "On the Ropes", "Unbearable" and many more. They played for a little under 2 hours. The atmosphere was great although I have to say that the gig the previous year was more electric. I think the people around us weren't getting into it with the same enthusiasm as Jill and I.


The only sour note for me was that someone stole my T-shirt. I bought a new T-Shirt at the gig and took off my T-Shirt that I'd bought at last years gig. By the end of the night when the lights went up my T-Shirt had vanished. How annoying. Anyway a great night and great to meet Malc Treece in person.

Wysing Arts Centre - Den Building

A little known place in Bourn just outside of Cambridge is the Wysing Arts Centre. For full details visit http://www.wysingartscentre.org/.  It's a great place to visit and often puts on events to get people involved in art, be that appreciation of art, enjoyment of art or hands-on practical stuff. Today was no exception with the featured event being "Den building". The events are free and this particular one was perfectly suited for our children. Various materials were provided and you could head across to a lightly wooded area to build whatever kind of den you wanted. The kids spent a few enjoyable hours in beautiful sunshine building their den. We went with friends so there were a good few kids to get involved in the effort.


Hopefully this link to my Picasa Web album of our time Den building at Wysing will work: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/davidrjenkinson/WysingDenBuilding#


I'd recommend anyone to pay a visit to the place. It's a lovely setting and there is plenty of art on offer for you to enjoy.

Cambridge Corn Exchange - James Gig

Last night was another storming set from the mighty "James". Can you believe that they started out in 1981? I've been a fan since about 1987 and went to my first James gig back in December 1989. 2 years ago I went to see them again over in Norwich following their reformation and the release of the "Hey Ma" album. Another fantastic night. So when the chance came to see them in my home town of Cambridge there wasn't even a decision to be made. I'd been looking forward to the gig for months and was delighted that the night had finally come around. 


As 9pm approached the tightly packed crowd stood in eager anticipation of James taking to the stage. A few short minutes after 9pm the lights went down and we knew the moment had arrived. Then quite unexpectedly a side door of the theatre, half way up the wall opened and a spotlight picked out Tim Booth holding his mic and launching into an acoustic version of Sit Down. As he cleared the door way and moved onto the suspended walkway that leads up to the seating section, Larry Gott walked through the door strumming away on his acoustic guitar. What a magical sight seeing the 2 old pro's knocking out such a beautiful stripped down version of perhaps their best known anthem. Tim delighted the seated fans by walking right up to their section and standing in front of them under the glow of a spotlight singing his heart out. He then returned to the suspended walkway to close out the song to the delight of the throng below. 


The crowd were in fine voice as pretty much every song was known by everyone in the room. They played a few brand new songs from their soon to be released mini album. Luckily for me I'd been listening to them streamed from the James website so I knew every single song they sang. It was a perfect night. The encore brought such classics as "Tomorrow", "Sometimes" and the finale "Laid". What can I say? A truly memorable gig. James have still got the magic and the star quality in spades!

Lunch at Thurnham Hall

My folks are in a holiday club called "Diamond Resorts International" (previously known as Sunterra). One of the properties owned by Diamond is Thurnham Hall. When we go up to Blackburn to visit them we like to call in at Thurnham Hall for lunch. It's a lovely place and anyone is welcome to pop along for a spot of lunch. It is not "members only" contrary to popular opinion. Here's a brief description lifted from http://web.thurnhamhall.com/


"Thurnham Hall is a 12th century country house that stands proudly in a stunning estate of nearly 30 acres. Boasting an elegant Jacobean Great Hall, the resort combines the very best of old and new.The Hall is located in the tiny hamlet of Thurnham, situated just five miles south of Lancaster, England"


The food is great, the service is excellent, the setting is idyllic and the restaurant is bright, warm and inviting. I would recommend a visit if you find yourself wanting to dine in a beautiful setting in close proximity to Lancaster.

Our visit today was no exception to previous experience. A lovely pint of draught Black Sheep Ale and a lovely piece of fish with chunky chips and mushy peas. There is a good amount of choice on the menu but I tend to fall back to old favourites. I can't help myself! It's the kind of menu that's not stupidly long but does feature some great dishes that leave you torn between 3 or 4 starters and 3 or 4 mains.

Cambridge Park Run (Week 9)

Today was week 9 for Cambridge Park Run. After last week's PB of 22:53 I was keen to know whether I could improve once again. My problem this time was that I'd been for a 6 mile run and a 4.5 mile run during the week so my legs felt sore. The Achilles tendon injury was still nagging despite being much improved. During a quick warm up I became aware that I had some groin discomfort on the right side. I expect this was caused by walking with a slight limp while I've had the achilles problem. Anyway I wasn't hopeful for a fast time due to all of these leg issues. 

My strategy this week was to go out more slowly and either build my speed or at least sustain it. Last week saw a fast first mile and then increasingly slower 2nd and 3rd miles. My strategy paid off this week as I managed to get a new PB of 22:39 and with a much lower max heart rate than the week before. I was averaging 7:20(ish) per mile.

Something else I've neglected to mention is that for the past 3 weeks my wife has accompanied me to the Park Run. This week she smashed her PB by 3 minutes which was incredible. I'm very proud of her. She's training for the Race for Life again so the 5K Park Run route is an ideal training distance.

Non default template

I was getting really tired of my blog template, i.e. the look and feel of things. All of the standard supplied templates were not inspiring me anymore. But then Mashable posted this: http://mashable.com/2010/03/24/free-blogger-templates/. I tried a few and settled on "Notepad". I think it looks great. I slightly hacked the HTML to remove a couple of things I didn't want and I'm happy with the result.....for now!. They have loads of templates but I couldn't be bothered to trawl them all. What do you think?

iPad Parody

Mashable posted this link to an awesome iPad parody video. I love the iPad but equally I'm more than happy to enjoy watching people mocking it. Enjoy it. Fingers crossed the link keeps working for a long time to come.

Sport Relief Mile 2010

At lunch time today I, along with my wife and kids headed down to Milton Country Park to participate in the Sport Relief Mile. The weather was fantastic. A great temperature for running and the sun shining. The park was full of people and the atmosphere was amazing. At exactly noon we set off. I was actually doing the 3 mile run (which turned out to be 3.3 miles according to my GPS). I got around in a good time finishing 3rd for the 3 milers in my time slot. The kids and my wife also completed their one mile in good time. It was great fun to be enjoying running whilst raising money for charity. 

I think the achievement that impressed me the most today was a young man, who presumably had cerebral palsy and would ordinarily be in a wheel chair, managed to walk the whole mile route aided by several helpers but nevertheless he took every step himself. It was inspirational and we gave him a big cheer and a huge round of applause as he finished the journey. What a fantastic person.

Multitasking to come in iPhone 4.0 software

According to several sites on the Internet the general opinion seems to be that in Summer version 4.0 of the iPhone software will be released and will include multi tasking capabilities. This will extend beyond the core apps to allow concurrent execution of 3rd party apps. Sounds good to me. 

The image above is a good representation of how the screen could display your running apps and allow you to switch between them. Power consumption and available memory are concerns with running several things at once. Plus the potential for Spyware\Malware being able to "lurk" in the background is now a threat. I for one will be keen to see how Apple handle these issues. I expect there will be a maximum number of apps that can run concurrently. Will my iPhone 3G be able to cope with v4.0 software and multitasking or will I have to get the next iPhone model which will probably have more memory a faster processor and a better battery (I hope!).

Cambridge Park Run (Week 8)

This morning at 9am it was Week 8 of Cambridge Park Run. A 5K run around Milton Country Park in Cambridge (UK). I've only managed to complete 3 runs in 8 weeks due to my long list of running injuries. I still have tendonitis in my right Achilles tendon but I pushed that to the back of my mind today and set out for a PB. I started way too fast and completed the 1st mile in sub 7 mins. My heart rate was off the scale (it finally peaked at 194BPM). Keeping up the pace was impossible but I kept as much pace as I could manage and did get around in 22:53 which was my PB by 12 secs. The photo here shows my pained face as I pushed to the finish line. Luckily despite gasping for air, feeling dizzy and monitoring my high BPM I returned to feeling ok pretty quickly. It's so good to get back out running. I've been laid up for 2 weeks without running a single step and even prior to that I've been on "light duties" because of the tendonitis.

Headphones - Sennheiser PMX80

If you're like me sometimes you just want to run free and unencumbered by technology. No music, just the delights of nature. Birds singing, the breeze dancing through the trees, the steady thud, thud of your feet, your senses clear to drink in the joyful smell of nature and freedom. Absolute freedom and relaxation. There's nothing like it. It's why I run.

But sometimes I just feel like I do want to go out and run with some music playing. So I'll load up my iPod with some great tunes and hit the road. Now, this is where my first few ventures out with music didn't go as planned. Why? because my headphones were not giving me the pleasure I had hoped. Some reasons for this were:-

• They were just too hot and sweaty after a few miles of running
• They would stop working if too much sweat leaked into them
• They kept vibrating themselves out of my ears
• They blocked out too much external noise so I felt nervous when running near traffic
• The sound quality was poor against my breathing and footfall
• I kept snagging the cable with my arm and yanking the headphones out of my ears

So what to do? Luckily this is when I stumbled upon the Sennheiser PMX80's. A lovely lightweight pair of headphones. What's so good about them?

• They look great
• They fit perfectly
• The do not move at all when I'm running
• The cable only goes up to one ear instead of both so I can avoid snagging
• The sound quality (for the price) is great
• They're water\sweat resistant

I heartily recommend them to anyone who wants a good set of running headphones. My wife borrowed mine and liked them so much she asked me to buy her a pair, so I did. They're currently at Play.com for £17.99.

Great North Run 2010

I'm running the Great North Run again this year. I'm doing it for the mental health charity MIND. Please visit my sponsorship page and give whatever you can to support this great charity - http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DavidJenkinson

The Inaugural Cambridge Park Run

Today was the first ever Cambridge Park Run. In sub zero temperatures and with a layer of icy snow to contend with, 71 hardened runners converged at 8:45am in Milton Country Park to participate in a 5K run. I was amazed at such a good turn out for the first ever race meet. At 9am sharp, after a quick brief on the route, we were underway. It felt great to be running in a group as so often I'm out on my own. I started a little too fast with all the excitement but found a nice rhythm over the first kilometre. The first 20 or so runners (including me!) took a slight wrong turn and ended up running out of the park. We stopped to consider where we'd missed a turning and as other runners started to catch up we had to run back the way we'd come and pick up the correct route. No great problem and only 0.2K added to the distance. I was happy enough with my performance. It's not really a contest between runners, more a case of competing with yourself each week to see if you can improve your time over the same circuit. I'm really looking forward to next weeks race. This will be a regular weekly event at 9am every saturday morning. I'll go as often as I can. A great way to start the weekend instead of lounging in bed for hours wasting the day. For those that don't know about Park Run visit "http://www.parkrun.com". There are events all over the country. It's free to take part and you get an official time for each race. It is run by volunteers and financed through sponsorship deals. Check it out if you like running.

Yotel - the smallest UK based hotel rooms

I had to take a trip to Jersey on an early flight so booked myself into this place at Gatwick South Terminal
http://www.yotel.com/. From the company that brought us Yo! Sushi comes Yotel!. Remember Simon Woodroffe who was a Dragon in the first series of Dragon's den? It's all his idea. He wanted to mimic Japanese sleep capsules but with a more sophisticated westernised edge. Inspired by first class sleeper beds on British Airways he contacted the designers and worked with them to develop the Yotel cabins. Your room is very small and compact but it actually has everything you need to rest your weary head. The quality is excellent. I'd go again for sure.