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Hello! This is The Girl, writing to you for the DC Rainmaker weekly newsletter. This week, I’m writing to you from a cold, hard bench provided by the friendly neighborhood laundromat!

I’m sure any parent out there can relate… when your kiddo gets sick and pukes, they only puke while sitting on big blankets, bed sheets, or your favorite comforter. And thus, I’m at the laundromat making use of their oversized washers and dryers!

Now that I’ve started you off with that fun visual, on with the newsletter! If you’re a new newsletter recruit, you can catch up with newsletter archives here, and the way I structure the newsletter is to give you the latest and greatest of the DCR round up, followed by the In-Depth thoughts of the girl!

The Maker household is getting it’s groove back since Daddy has been home. Three full weeks now!!! What?? A record! And since Ray’s return home, he’s been burning the midnight oil trying to get ahead of the fall posts, reviews, and gear recommendations before we welcome another sports-tech gadget tester to our fold. But first, he was finally able to get a hold of his ANT+ Symposium Keynote Address video. So if you were interested in his thoughts rounding up the 2017 sports tech world, have a watch there.

I would say the most “coveted” blog post of the fall (maybe year?) hit the blog last week. That was the “Annual Winter Bike Trainer Recommendations” post. So if you’re on the market for a new bike trainer, or you’re looking to sneak an awesome present under the tree for your secret Santa, I’d check that out!

Also, one of the coolest gear posts that I think Ray has tackled was the Wiral Lite Cable Cam. A lot of the actual footage in his post is from his recent weekend in Reno out mountain biking with the guys from TrainerRoad. I mean, I’m not the gadget expert in the fam, but I think this thing is awesome.

Garmin turned the spot lights on the idea of capturing “Running Power”. This is something Ray and I have LONG debated and talked about over the years. The reality is, there is just a crazy amount of details and variables that need to be taken into account… woof, not a project I would want to take on. However, good on them for getting on the bandwagon and pushing the industry. I know Garmin isn’t the first on the running power scene, but I’d say getting big brother at the table sort of lifts other companies to help push the boundaries of research and implementation of this technology.

There is also a Garmin in-depth review of a the Vivoactive 3. Always a popular product. Though I have to admit, I’m still rocking my Fenix 5s. I’m sure Ray will be coming out with a wearable shopper guide before Christmas!

Finally of note is the post on the updated “The Sufferfest” platform. While I literally know nothing about this gadgetry, I do know, I asked Ray how his day was recently and he shook his head muttering “miserable”. Haha, I think someone had to do a max output test on the bike, and there was a realization how tired he is post crazy travel season. I think the Sufferfest test kicked his butt.

Sorry, I don’t get to make fun of him too often, so I’m just taking a moment here. Meanwhile the two of us went out on our city cruisers the other day to and after approximately 6 minutes of pedaling I was huffing and puffing. So I guess I can’t say much. I’ll just blame the 35 week watermelon hanging off my front!

As always, if you don’t have time or the energy to read all of those blog links, you can check out Ray’s YouTube channel. He did a Friday night Live Chat you can catch up on. As well there is that video on the cable cam “Wiral” I was talking about, also the Garmin Running Power video. There is plenty more on the channel as well, but I won’t ruin all the fun. Go click around, lose track of time!

Then, if you have time left in your day, keep scrolling below the fold and see what’s happening in the life and times of the Maker household in the “In Depth Thoughts from The Girl”.

In Depth Thoughts from The Girl

Hey there, thanks for taking the time to scroll down. The last time we chatted I left you with a simple link to the newly updated “Baby Gear” page I’m keeping updated. Basically, it’s a list post of all the stuffs we have accumulated to keep our house moving forward with a baby in tow! We are not baby experts the way Ray has taken on the sports tech industry, but as we lack a lot of space in our apartment, we have become pretty picky of what stays and what goes. So, if you’re expecting a little one yourself or have family with kiddos and want to see what might be useful for them, check it out.

Before the baby gear post, I had started to give you the insiders look at what goes into an In-Depth Review. Of course you know just how LONG a DCR review can be, but what exactly happens before the post goes out?

Last time, was the never-ending saga of the French postal system… Truly, La Poste and the rest of the delivery courier systems might be the most frustrating part of our residence in this country! None the less, eventually Ray will receive a product. Then he will meticulously unpack said product with specifically placed product photos. I once spent hours taking product photos for him, and when the post was published I scrolled down to realize he re-took all of the photos.

Eventually the product will make it onto the rolling pin or some other set up to compare the size with other comparable products in its category. The poor product is then subjected to the embarrassing weight scale analysis. No one wants their weight measured and then posted on the internet, Ray, give the products just a little courtesy no? If the product has a screen, there will inevitably be photos taken in the daylight and night time mode. As well, if it’s a touch screen of sorts, we have to wait for a rainy day to take video verifying if the touch screen actually works when wet! And finally, if appropriate, I’m dragged around town to a place Ray wants more product shots to do photos of what this product looks like on a small female’s wrist.

This is just considering if the product is a “simple” wearable or bike computer of sorts! When it’s a review of a camera or a drone… groan. The elaborate set ups of how to take video or photos of a camera taking video or photos! Or flying a drone next to another drone to get the right shot! Jeeeze. The point is, I don’t think I can ever do justice in explaining the time and amount of thought that goes into just the photography and videography of a product. That alone testing and critiquing the product and its validity! But in the end, I think this might be turning into one of Ray’s favorite parts of the blog. Photography! While it’s a big project to manage the photos and editing, I think the guy truly enjoys the tech space of photography as well. Hence his interests in keeping up with GoPro’s latest products and all the cool drone cam advances.

In the end, I can’t tell you the number of photos that are actually taken of each product. The man is scrupulous with the photos. I think we should be sponsored by an external hard drive or cloud storage company! Otherwise I might consider hiring a personal photo assistant to organize the photos! Do you know how hard it is to try to find family photos amongst the thousands of product shots!!! I’ll never get the 2017 album finished at this rate!!

Alright, I’ve bored you enough with reminiscing over photography. Until next time.

~The Girl.

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