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Greetings! Hi everyone, and thanks for joining me on another wild adventure of the DC Rainmaker newsletter. It feels like a month has gone by since I sat here at the kitchen table typing out the tech savvy satire. In reality, it has almost been a month as I have since traveled back home to Newfoundland, Canada, and then down to Mexico. Time flies when you’re having fun! Do you want to know what is NOT fun? Construction and renovations. Nope. Not fun. And not nearly on time or budget. So if you sense a little stress from the blog lately it’s because I am still typing the newsletter from my kitchen table instead of at the offices! Grrrrr. But hey, who has ever heard of a construction project that finished on time? I’m just sticking to my new mantra “No Prob-Lama”.
Alrighty, next up, it seems we (still) had a bug in the newsletter sign-ups. Some of you joining us today signed up, cough, a few weeks (or months) ago. Welcome. And here is the link to the newsletters that you missed. Newsletter archives. Sorry about that! First up on the tech talk we have a conglomerate of Tech Tidbits. Ray put together a bunch of semi-notable updates from Polar, Strava, and PowerTap. Inclusive of some thoughts on the Polar Vantage series watches and their not so hot reception of the watches’ lack of features. In the end, hopefully good news, Polar announced an update of the future watch features firmware updates. Say that 5 times fast! Next up was the annual Kona Bike Power Meter Analysis. In true Ray fashion he put together an overly complex analysis of what the 2018 spread of power meter brand/model usage looked like. Kona, as you know is “the” showcase race of the year of what the world has to offer in top class athletes. I LOVE watching the all the news swirling around the event, the interviews, the Instagram accounts, the famous Underpants Run. The athletes are just phenomenal! But back to the point of Ray’s post, I thought it was interesting to get a different perspective from Ray, that just because the counted numbers of power meters are published, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are accurate, nor representational of what is the “best” right now in the industry. With Kona always being held in October, and new tech gear released all summer long, pros especially, might not change gear in the midst of their training. Do you show up to your biggest race of the year (life) with brand new running sneakers? Probably not. Everything needs a breaking-in period. Anyways, I’m ruining the end of the story, so go read for yourself. Stop looking at pictures of world class athletes running around in their undies!
Moving on, we have the Skydio’s R1 Sports Drone update. The action drone can now be paired with and controlled by your wrist using the latest Apple Watch. (Yes, Ray will be doing an in-depth review on said Apple Watch. Yes, it is coming soon. Really soon). You might remember this super cool video Ray tweeted while visiting Australia. He tried his best to lose the Skydio R1 drone, running it through running trails, and even tree tunnels, but it kept up. So I think he’s pretty impressed to get to use this drone a bit more without having to schlep his phone around too! Also, I found it a bit hilarious that a commenter thought he had busted Ray on something. They commented on the post, “In your Review back in spring you mentioned that you would send the loaner drone back: obviously you didn´t.” … Ummm, you know that thing called the postal system? It works both directions! Anyways, I laughed a little. Cross my heart, Ray does in fact send the test units back to the companies when done, and then to my dismay usually finds and excuse to go purchase the product. “Historical purposes” is usually the one liner I get.
Last but not least in the tech talk stuffs is the much anticipated Zwift release of the NYC course. Albeit a little on the Star Trek side, in general it seems to have been a hit. I personally have not ridden the course, because let’s be honest, my last Zwift session was… hmmmm… I have to do some math here. You get the point, I don’t need to actually call myself out on the last time my butt was in the saddle. Maybe I’ll give it a whirl next week and I’ll give you my two cents then. Until then, go see what Ray had to say. Remember how I said “Ray will be doing the Apple Watch In Depth Review soon. Really Soon.” Well there you have it, you’re of the first to see it. Hot off the press, and holding up my newsletter publication. I haven’t read it yet, so have at it.
Finally rounding off the blogpost round up, as usual are the 5 Random Things I did in Cancun, and the Week in Review. You probably won’t see a 5 Random Things from this past weekend from Ray. It would likely just say “1) Sick in bed, 2) Slept, 3) Ate a lot of BBQ items, 4) Cheered for Amsterdam Marathon runners with The Peanut, 5) went back to bed sick.” So if you want to read something much more entertaining I’d stick to the Cancun post! We had SO MUCH FUN. Don’t be jealous, but we did in fact have a full 7 days without children, lots of grape juice, and outdoor exercise. As well as a few encounters with Mexican wildlife. At the very least go have a look at (and don’t be jealous of) my super super cool swimcap! Also, there is a great sale happening on the Tacx Flux (original) trainer. So if that strikes your fancy, bypass the Mexican vacay and check out that Week in Review post for the link. Now, if reading is less your style and you want to see some Ray video goodness, here is your round up of DCR YouTube channel. If you want to be “in the know” for future new videos by Ray, be sure you check out the DC Rainmaker YouTube Channel and click subscribe! · Openwater Swim Mega GPS Comparison Tests (I star in this, cough, didn't drown or get eaten by sharks!) · Hands-on: Skydio R1 with Apple Watch Control · DJI Mavic 2: Cold Weather Battery Test · Zwift NYC: Full Hands-on, First Ride/Run So that's it, we are at the end of all the tech goodness for the week. If you still have time, or a little coffee left in your cup, keep it scrollin’ to below the fold to check out the In-Depth Thoughts of The Girl. |
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In-Depth Thoughts from The Girl Howdy! Thanks for continuing to scroll, and welcome to my hidey hole. Now I bet you’re wondering what’s all the news? The last newsletter had a bit of an abbreviated The Girl section. I was just having such a good week with Ray. He stayed true to his promise and used the laptop only a handful of times. I figured time in the sun was limited, you guys are pretty understanding newsletter readers, and I really wanted to get that last openwater swim in, so the weekly ramblings was cut short. So here’s the last picture in case you’re not already sick of it.
After Mexico, Ray headed straight back to Amsterdam, while I went north to Newfoundland to collect all the kiddos and my Dad. Now lovingly referred to as “Grampie” or most recently “Opa”, Dutch for Grandfather.
Neither of my parents had visited us in Amsterdam since we moved, and it was time to remedy that. My mom is still working, 45 years as a professor now, we joke that she’s working so my dad can travel the world. So my Dad traveled back to the Netherlands with me and the girls to enjoy just over a week here and see what it is all about!
Here is where things really get fun! With the kiddos back in daycare, I could finally take my Dad around and say a big thank you for babysitting while I sat my butt in the sand the week prior. And what better way to properly thank your old man than with good beer?
Monday we had great weather here, so we hopped on the bikes and made off for a day trip to the town of Zaandijk. Home of the HOOP Brewery and restaurant. The area is really beautiful with a show case of windmills along the Zaan River. We ate a lot of cheese, some apple beignets, and of course sipped a wide selection of brews. I’m personally an IPA fan, but this time around the bartender talked me into tall pour of “Pumpkin Party”. At least it wasn’t a pumpkin spiced latte!
Well folks, that’s all the news and I have to go! It’s time to start the preparations for the Halloween Spooktacular Costume Party we are hosting for the kiddos this weekend! Thanks for reading, ~The Girl. |
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