This test has pulled photos from an album I created on Facebook for one of the pages I admin. The downside is that I tend to not post photos so much on Facebook.  I usually just upload them here to the blog.  Starting to test a couple other services – Fotki and 500px.  Although it looks like my options for WP integration may be somewhat limited with either of those.

“May 12, 2012″

From BSC Cardinal v PSA Lady Stars, posted by on 5/16/2012 (11 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

Alas, things recently took a turn for the worse.  First, the telephoto lens has gone missing (which may not be entirely bad given the problems noted above). But, the night my son was attending his eighth grade dance, I discovered I could not zoom the normal lens out. So, once it got to 55mm, it was stuck there. And, when I went to process the photos, they just did not look right.

In fact, things were so bad, I actually used my HTC EVO to take the pics for the satellite radio write-up that I did.

This past Friday night, the girls got to attend some soccer training with Mia Hamm, Cindy Parlow, and Carla Overbeck. Cindy took the camera in hopes of getting some shots. But after the first few shots, she could not take any more. The view through the viewfinder was just black. Looking at it when I got home, I discovered there was some piece broken down inside the lens.

This meant – 1. regular 18-55mm lens broken; 2. telephoto up to 300mm lens missing (not that it worked well); 3. Nikon D40 getting a little old and picture quality just didn’t seem the same.

I could have gone and purchased some replacement lenses.  But, that would mean still contending with the D40 body. For not much more moolah, I figured I could invest in some new equipment. And while I hope that maybe one day I could be good enough to capture stuff without relying on technological gimmickry, I’m not there yet. Plus, getting some new tools into the toolbox may help me a little bit in improving some skills like composition.

I found a pretty good deal on a Canon EOS Rebel T3. Not a cutting edge camera at all – in fact, probably near the end of its life as a product.  But still, probably a step up from the D40. From a technical standpoint, not much more to it than the D40. But, the base lens has image stabilization technology. And, I was able to get a package deal that included a 55-250mm telephoto lens with both autofocus and image stabilization. Yes!!! I give up a little bit of zoom, but get some (in all likelihood) better ability to catch an image in focus.  Having worked with soccer pics on the computer for a few years now, I don’t think the reduction from 300 down to 250mm max zoom will be an issue.

The other big change will be the ability to record video! This factored into the value equation as it means I don’t need to invest in a separate video camera. Granted, it is only 720p. But I usually record in that anyway when using the GoPro (so I can do slow motion better since it will record at 60fps), so the videos should mix and match well. And in recordings where the GoPro may not have been involved, I’m better off than I was before – resorting to the HTC EVO’s video capability.

The T3 is not the most advanced camera. I looked at a couple other cameras that were a little newer and had a few more features, functions and capabilities.  But for where I am now and how I use the camera, just couldn’t justify the extra few dollars. I look forward to trying it out over the next few weeks on a variety of subjects. I’ve even managed to already grab a pic of some cupcakes for Cindy to post to Pinterest. Maybe a halo effect from having a new camera, but I thought it came out better than what I would have been able to do with the D40.

For me, the first challenge was figuring out what to do about the antenna. I really did not want to put it on the outside of the MINI. But, I still am not sure whether I even have a satellite antenna built-in to my regular antenna housing. I am thinking not, but the only way to verify that would be to get underneath the carpet under the passenger seat – a job I’m not really willing to tackle. So, I ended up putting the antenna up at the leading edge of the dash (where XM says it should not go). While testing that, I’ve just had the radio hanging on a vent and then for a month, I’ve wedged the bracket underneath the speedo trim. The radio has been prone to falling and is a challenge to hit the buttons since the plastic mounting brackets are so flimsy. And, I’ve had to put up with all the wires hanging around (I did tape them together a bit, but still).

Satisfied with the antenna reception, it was time to get the radio mounted a little more permanently. And since I prefer non-destructive mounts, this was going to be a challenge. The first thought was to somehow add it to the CravenSpeed mount I already have for my GPS. And that could be done according to CravenSpeed if I were willing to plunk down the $$$. But then I ran across a member of NAM who had made his own bracket and that prompted me to pursue the same.

I already had an idea of where I wanted the radio be located. Next to the tach at about the 9 o’clock position when looking at the steering wheel, within the circumference of the steering wheel (see the circled spot in the pic). This would keep it close to my normal lines of sight when driving, it would not be readily noticeable or apparent from inside or outside, and it would not block the air vent.

I visited Lowe’s and found a sheet of 16 gauge steel. This seemed to be stiff enough to hold the radio in place and not flex much (if any) when I change channels. I also got some M4-.70×10 hex cap screws, some washers, and some wing nuts. Even with a can of matte black spray paint, total cost was only around $10.

The first step was to get a piece of cardboard and rough out the dimensions and shape of the bracket. The plan was to use the two lower screws on the back of the tach (which are also used to hold the CravenSpeed mount on) and just extend the bracket straight out from there. After a couple rounds of measuring and testing, I had the basic shape set. The short leg will extend down and provides space for the radio bracket to connect.

I transferred template shape to the steel sheet and used my Dremel to cut it out. With a metal cutting blade, that worked surprisingly well. I even managed to get the edges and corners sort of rounded off. Just remember – wear some eye protection. As you can see, quite a few sparks were produced in the process.

With the piece cut, I was finally ready to move the tach off the steering column. That proved to be more difficult than I remember when installing the CravenSpeed mount, but I managed to get it. I then measured the distance between the screws (3.75 inches iirc) and got them marked on the cardboard template and on the steel bracket.

The sat radio model I have (an XM One I believe) is actually composed of two pieces. One is the head unit itself which is just a little smaller than a typical GPS unit. The head unit slides into a “base”. From a marketing/functionality standpoint, this means I could buy a similar “kit” for another car and just move the radio between vehicles or I could buy a kit for the house and use the radio in my house. The base has the connectors for the power, audio out, and antenna along with cutouts for brackets. It also has a variety of slots cut into the back of it so it can be put on a variety of brackets. This includes four key hole type slots where you would put a screw or bolt head in the hole and then slide the unit down onto a narrower portion. I measured these holes as well and transferred them over to the bracket. Then it was time to drill – carefully so all the holes would be in the right place. This involved using the Dremel to start pilot holes and then a good metal bit for the heavy drilling.

With that done, I hit the bracket with some matte black spray paint. Once dried, I put the four bolts on and slid the radio bracket into place. I decided to use wing nuts so I could tighten/loosen them by hand. So far so good. Next, it was time to attach it to the back of the tach. This would be the moment of truth as far as whether I had rework ahead of me. Great news – the holes lined up perfectly. Unfortunately, I think I stripped one of the screws when putting it back in. Pretty sure it should all hold together though.

I then spent some time getting the wires run up under the dash and to the unit. Had a bit of a scare when I couldn’t get the power connection in because the bracket was just interfering with the connector. But I was able to loosen the wing nuts (glad I used them and was able to use my hands – very quick) and there was enough play to get everything situated and connected. The last step was to get the tach screwed back on the steering column and then figure out how high I had my steering wheel set.

With everything set back to how it was, I powered the unit up and had a nice connection. I will say that with it installed, there is a little bit of flex when I push on the unit – more than I thought there was going to be even when working on the steel. However, in using it for about a week now, I don’t see it as an issue. There is a very small bit of flex present when I hit preset buttons 1-4 (these are at the far left end of the unit). But for 5-10 and the channel up/down buttons, it is nice and solid. The biggest drawback is the screen of the radio is hidden behind the steering wheel, so I have to move my head a little bit if I want to see the artist/song info. I can live with that. The only task remaining is to order a hardwire kit for the power so I can free up my cigarette lighter. Short of that, I am back to a nice, clean, wire-free dash.

Traditionally, the event includes a run up Hwy 66 going north out of Winston-Salem.  This was one of Bullfrog’s favorite routes.  I’m sure anyone who has driven it understands why. This year, instead of going to the summit of Hanging Rock as we have done the past couple years, I modified the route a bit to take us to the summit of Pilot Mountain, an iconic view on Hwy 52.  From there, a bit of country driving took us to Yadkinville.  This let us support a local business – Nate’s Place – with our lunch business.

I counted 23 MINIs at the end. Total number may have been a couple more as we had one join us during the route and one drop out (that I know of).  Unlike some of my events, we had no U-turns and no unpaved roads.

As far as the video goes, I tried my hand at some time lapse with this one.  Set the GoPro for pics every 2 seconds.  Captured a total of about 2500 pics, but after five minutes I moved the camera, so I tossed the first 600 or so.  Finally broke down and got Vegas Movie Studio (the cheapest version I could find) to edit videos.  It was basically one click to import the whole series as a time lapse (though I’ll need to learn how to adjust the frame length in the future). For this video I broke it up into three parts, but the full 1:15 time  lapse is on Vimeo.  Besides the in-car video, I threw in a couple videos and pics shot with my HTC EVO (wife had my Nikon camera at the beach).  You might note the shakiness of the hand held bits.  I do have an idea to fix that in the future.  Will post up if I pursue it.

Enjoy the video!

Since I passed through the 100k mile mark and was due for a change, I decided to look at some other options. Lots of folks on the MINI boards run either the MINI oil, the recommended Castrol European blend 0W-30 oil or Mobil1 0W-40. Then there are those like me that went outside the fold and run something like Royal Purple or Amsoil or a few other smaller brands.

One oil I rarely see anyone using is Pennzoil. According to MINI, the Pennzoil Platinum European Formula Ultra SAE 5W-30 is “approved” (along with a Valvoline oil that I never see anyone running either). However, upon checking the Pennzoil site, I discovered that there is no longer (if there ever was one) a product that matches the name that MINI provides. It looks like you can get either Platinum or Ultra, but not both. In the Platinum line I found a 5W-30 blend that meet the ACEA A3/B3 and BMW LL01 specs. In the Ultra line, I found Pennzoil European Formula Ultra 5W-40 which meets both of those specs and per Pennzoil, is the recommended oil for my MINI. And for those interested in marketing tie-ins, this is the oil used by Ferrari.  This second oil in the Ultra line is the one that I decided to go with.

One challenge though is that these oils cannot be found locally. So, I had to order some.  Fortunately, Amazon carries it in a six pack (so I have a quart+ left over if I need to top off between changes) and I got free shipping as a Prime member.

Anyway, I’ll try to remember to post back again on how it does.

On a slightly related note, I had ordered an air filter through Amazon as well.  Unfortunately, it was not the right size despite Amazon thinking it would fit. I submitted it for a refund which processed with no problem and they even said I don’t have to bother sending the incorrect filter back.  Of course, I think the refund may bounce because of the change in banks that is occurring this weekend. Always something.

Today I hit the 100,000 mile mark in the MINI WUF.  That is just a couple weeks shy of 4 years of ownership.

I “celebrated” the occasion by performing some maintenance.  First up was rotating the tires.  The Conti DWS tires are holding up remarkably well so far.  Rears were at 10/32nd of tread and the fronts were at 9/32nd of tread.  That’s on about 5,500 miles.  At that pace I think I can squeeze out the 50k miles they are rated for.

Next up was flushing the brake fluid.  Made the switch from ATE Super Blue to some Motul 600 just so I’d be able to see when the new fluid had run through.  This proved to be a little more challenging that I thought as the blue fluid just mixed with the Motul (which is gold color) to make things kind of light green for a bit.  Think I got it all though, but I did go through both bottles of Motul, so I don’t have any extra on hand.  I did note that the ATE still looked pretty good.  When I switched to it, the MINI fluid was a dark, murky brown.  As I got the ATE out, it was maybe a little darker than new, but otherwise looked good.

Finally, I did a Seafoam treatment.  This was the third one I’ve done and is the first time I got any smoke.  Just a little bit when initially administering the Seafoam.

Once all the maintenance  was done, I took off a couple grille badges and installed a MINI Mileage Club badge for 100,000 miles.

A final note, when I was last working on my MINI, the jack I had sprung a leak or something and would not hold up the MINI any longer.  I ordered a new 3-ton jack from Harbor Freight (now I should be able to lift my wife’s vehicles as well, since they are always big and heavy).  Gotta say, this new jack is a monster.  It weighs 75 pounds.  But it gets the job done.

Near the beginning of the video, you’ll note we passed by the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant.  That was the inspiration for BlimeyCabrio’s dubbing the original route the Tour de Steamplumme.  We ended in downtown Fuquay-Varina at the Aviator Brewing Company Smokehouse.  If you pay real close attention, you might spot the bear mascot that was in Fuquay.

Well, it has only taken me four and a half months to start writing this and about six months to finish it.  But finally I have completed my recap of MINIs on the Dragon 2011.  This was my first time going to MOTD (but not the Dragon) and could be my last for quite a while.  Since my wife’s birthday usually falls on the same weekend and soccer is in season for my daughters, getting away for MOTD is a challenge.  The stars aligned themselves this year though and I was able to make a last minute “GO” decision.

Day One

My MOTD adventure started on Thursday.  After dropping my son off at school, I was off, heading down the Interstate to the western tip of NC.  Once past Asheville it was not long before I was off the Interstate onto smaller and smaller roads.  After a bite to eat in Bryson City, it was on up Hwy 28 (aka Hellbender) to Fontana Village to check-in.  Of course, upon arriving at Fontana Village I was greeted to the sight of MINIs everywhere!

From Fontana Village, I headed back down 28 to the Tuskeegee Motel.  While I probably could have found a room at Fontana, the last time I stayed there I found the walls to be paper thin (which I figured would lead to some tough sleeping).  Plus, the rates at the Tuskeegee were quite a bit better.  That was good since I was trying to minimize costs.  The Tuskeegee itself is an old roadside motel – maybe 15 rooms with a little general store/gift shop and a couple gas pumps.  The room was dated, the TV small, no phone, and no Internet.  So roughing it a bit.  But it was in the middle of the country (OK, I guess everything in that area is in the middle of the country), there were cows and horses across the road, I could sit out front and watch MINIs go up and down the road, and the bed slept good.  While maybe not for everyone, it suited me just fine.

After unloading, I decided the first order of business was to head to the Devil’s Triangle.  Up 28 to Deal’s Gap where I stopped in the parking lot to see what the crowd was like.  Things took on an ominous note as I was preparing to pull out as a couple SHP cruisers came by lights and sirens going.  As I soon discovered, there was a wreck right up on the Dragon – literally the first curve after you turn out of Deal’s Gap.  Seems a car and a motorcycle had tangled, much to the detriment of the motorcycle rider.  After waiting a few minutes, the road was cleared and I was on my way for the first of many Dragon runs.  This one would turn out to be rather slow thanks to the Ford Fusion in front of me.

Once I was done with the Dragon, I headed on west on 129, then turned southwest for some country driving.  Took this route so I would avoid an out and back to the Triangle – instead, it was more of a loop.  As I traveled the backroads of NC and TN, I came across quite a bit of storm damage and instances where trees had been cleared from the road.  This was the day after some of the killer tornadoes had struck in Alabama and they had traveled through this area as well.

Upon reaching the Devil’s Triangle itself, I hooked up the video camera and feasted on some twisties.  I found the DT to be a fabulous run.  It consists of Hwy 62, 116, and 330, going up through the community of Petros on the way.  Very rugged country.  As I discovered, the warning on the DT web site is accurate:

BULLETIN: The Devils Triangle is not a place for the squeamish or beginning rider. There are sections with difficult steep switchbacks, poorly patched asphalt, heaves in the roadway, broken pavement, gravel in road, steep dropoffs, and coal/logging trucks to dodge. Other that that it is a great road. RIDE WITH EXTREME CARE …..

The road itself had a nice variety – some switchbacks, some nice esses, sweepers, etc.  But the description above was accurate as there were a few areas where I had to dodge some broken pavement, loose dirt/gravel or potholes.  But in general the road surface was in pretty good condition.  One thing that was interesting were some of the drop-offs.  These usually occurred in the esses  where you’d come to a curve to the right.  The pavement would go out to an edge and then there would just be an almost straight drop down the side of the mountain.  Probably a good 20 feet or so before you’d hit anything.  And no guardrails.  It was really quite stunning to run across those spots.  It certainly made me want to ratchet up my concentration (as if cranking it up any higher were possible).

With the end of that run, I began the journey back.  After a quick bite to eat, I made my “return” Dragon run just as dusk was starting to fall.  This brought out a bit of wildlife as I spotted a wolf crossing the road and heading up the mountain shortly after I started the run.  I guess it was a wolf.  Since I drive the MINI WUF and I’m a Wolfpack fan, I’m going with it being a wolf.  By the time I got back to the Tuskeegee, darkness was upon me and it was time to settle in for the night.

Day 2

For the second day of MOTD, I started out with participation in the Dragon Parade.  A nice bonus I discovered to this was that since I had donated some food for the Graham County food bank, I got a CD (pretty sure put together by Xiek).  Scored a few good songs off of that.  The parade itself was maybe half the MINIs in attendance?  So a couple hundred at least?  Not sure, but the access road we lined up on was a long string of MINIs.  This access road was just up from the entrance to Fontana Village, on the other side of the bridge.  We headed up the Hellbender, then a right onto the Dragon.  This was a nice, medium-paced run.  At the end of the Dragon, I pulled off and just watched the rest of the line come by.  Once it thinned out, I headed back up the Dragon at a little better pace and got to see some of the stragglers headed the opposite direction.

When I got back to Deal’s Gap, I pulled and parked.  Ran into several THMMC folks and enjoyed breakfast with them at Deal’s Gap.  A couple of us decided to do another Dragon run.  It was still early and with the parade over, traffic was very light.  We got in a very spirited run – probably the most spirited run I’d made on the Dragon.  I even had a bit of brake fade by the end (which I don’t recall using my brakes that heavily).  Coming back was almost as good, though a little more traffic in a couple spots to slow the pace down a bit.

From there, we headed on down the Hellbender to Fontana Dam to cross that and take in the view from the other side.  Very impressive.  From there, we split up as I ran on down 28 to Bryson City to get some gas.  The others went back to Fontana Village for some lunch and the plan was for all of us to meet back up for a run on the Cherahola Skyway.

When I got back to Fontana Village though, no one was in sight at the designated meeting place.  After waiting a bit, I figured they had perhaps headed on out.  So, off I went.  Of course, the one time I wanted to get in a speedy run on the Dragon, I couldn’t due to the traffic.  After waiting at the end for a little while, I decided to head on.  Heading out on 129 I came across the second wreck of the weekend.  This time, I could see one or two motorcycles in the ditch on the side of the road.  I can’t imagine it was good news for the rider I saw that they had stabilized on the ground as the ditch was pretty much full of big, sharp, nasty looking rocks.

The ride down to Tellico Plains was enjoyable with splendid views.  And I spotted a sign for a Friends meeting.  I always like seeing those.  The Cherahola Skyway was a nice drive.  Traffic was light, though I did get stuck behind an very slow car at one point.  They finally pulled over to let me by.  That said, I wasn’t “wow”-ed by the Skyway.  I see may people posting about how it is one of the better roads in the area.  Maybe if I had been with other MINIs I would have enjoyed it better.  As a final note, I discovered later that the group I had planned to meet had actually decided to leave later than agreed upon.  So the whole time I thought I was chasing them, they were actually behind me.

By time I got back to the hotel, it was dusk, so it had definitely been a long day.  And once again, I came upon a wreck.  This time, in a sharp corner on the Hellbender, a motorcycle had to lay it down and ended up sliding into a MINI in the oncoming lane.  The next day I would see the MINI being taken home on a rollback.  I also figured out that the motorcyclist was staying at the Tuskeegee Motel.  As bad as it looked and as bad as he felt about taking out the MINI, he was glad he had hit it as he probably would have gone over the guardrail and down into the water had he not hit the MINI.  So the MINI saved him from a (probably) worse result.

Day 3

Saturday would bring an early start as I did the Sunrise Drive Through the Smokies.  It was interesting as I had to “trade” a spot with another THMMC member in order to get in on the drive.  Of course, once there, probably only a third of those who signed up actually showed up.  Which made for a good size group – about 12 or so MINIs.  We left in the dark from Fontana Village and headed out on the Dragon.  The turned right to head up the Foothills Parkway to take in the sunrise.

We then headed into Townsend for a stop at a combination gas station, grocery store, small restaurant/deli for a quick bite of breakfast and coffee!  We then looped back through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  This included Little River Road which was a wonderful twisty road that followed a river.  About the only downside was even this early in the morning, traffic was already heavy.  From there, we took 441 which included a “spiral” that did a complete 360 (someone was thinking outside the box to design that) before a stop near the road up to Clingman’s Dome.  We then headed back down through Cherokee and Bryson City before heading back up 28 to end at Fontana Village.

That was just in time to get back for the panoramic photo.  Really it was more than just in time as we actually had to wait a while to get lined up in our spot.  That did give me some time to talk with agranger and look at his radio setup.

After watching the panoramic photo, I hung out at Fontana Village for a while with some other THMMCers.  But, while watching Twister apply some decals, I missed a group headed out for a run on Wayah Road.  So once again, it was time to take off in pursuit.  Leaving Fontana Village, I saw the aftermath of yet another wreck – the fourth one for the weekend.  This one involved a MINI and a small red car at one of the entrances to Fontana Village.  It was clearly a bad wreck and I later saw some video of the wreck.

I did know they were planning to use Upper Tuskeegee Rd (which started close to my hotel) then Yellow Creek Road before coming out on Hwy 129 (near the large water line that crosses 129 for those familiar).  From there, it was down through Robbinsville (where I topped off my gas again) and on to Wayah Road.  Wayah is a nice twisty road, especially the southern part that climbs then descends a mountain in the area.  When I got to the end, I ran into a couple motorcyclists and chatted with them for a while before heading back.

After catching a bit to eat in Robbinsville, I headed on up to Deal’s Gap and decided to take in another Dragon run.  Had fun on that one following a group of Mazda RX owners that were in the area for the weekend.

I got back to the motel and caught a few winks before heading back to Fontana Village for the final event – Midnight on the Dragon.  Heading out from Fontana shortly before midnight, we headed up to Deal’s Gap to stage there.  From there, it was time to run the Dragon in the dark at midnight.  For the most part, this seemed to be a pretty hard core group of drivers, so the pace was definitely on the quick side.  Between the pace and the darkness, probably the most adrenaline rushing motoring I’ve done in my MINI.  Really not sure how my nerves made it, but it was a great way to cap things off for the weekend.

After getting back to the Tuskeegee, I was definitely wore out.  Got a good night of sleep and in the morning, headed home.  Since I made the decision to go to MOTD so late, I didn’t really get a chance to participate in some of the non-driving events that are held.  But that was ok.  It gave me the opportunity to make up my own schedule.  As far as the driving, the Devil’s Triangle was a great run, Midnight on the Dragon was a truly exhilarating experience, and the Sunrise drive was some nice fellowship time.  It would be nice to go again or to do MINIs Slay the Sleeping Dragon.  I guess one day the dates will fall right and/or the soccer season will not be in conflict.

As usual, there is a photo gallery with many more photos from MOTD 2011.

Thanks for reading!

With the new device, it meant getting apps installed so the tablet would fit in with my EVO and other tools. First up was Got To Do, the app I had been using for GTD. As I was visiting the app market, I noticed the tablet recognized a few apps from my EVO.  I guess the market is able to track that kind of stuff to help you stay synchronized between devices. The apps included Got To Do, yet it wouldn’t download it. With some further research, I found the app had effectively been abandoned by the developer. So I decided to go with the second choice from before – Ultimate To Do List, at least partly because they have a tablet version available. Since I use ToodleDo for the backend, a couple installs and syncs and I had both devices up and running with new GTD software and all my info intact and up to date.

With the new apps, I decided to go ahead and try to incorporate some of the Do It Tomorrow/Superfocus method into the system. After using the moleskine notebooks for a while, I liked how I could move the top stuff from my GTD to Superfocus in order to stay on task. However, I didn’t like the impact on my efforts to live a paperless digital life. So I am now tagging items and I’ve built a custom view in Ultimate on the superfocus tag. This effectively creates a pretty good replication of the right hand column, yet still within my GTD framework.

Another change I made with the tablet is the installation of Friendcaster. This is a replacement app for Facebook. The need for this is due to Facebook itself not having their own app ready (or apparently able to run on) for Honeycomb. On my EVO I didn’t really like Friendcaster, but it is ok on the tablet. It does have the advantage of letting you post to pages you manage. I do have Seesmic and Hootsuite installed for that purpose as well, but haven’t used them much yet. And in the process of writing this post, I’ve discovered they are working on a tablet version of Friendcaster.

While Friendcaster rates just average imo, I do like Tweetcaster by the same company (Handmark) for Twitter. They have a new HD version in beta that is designed for tablets. Very nice.

Amongst all the changes, I have also dropped Dropbox for a file synchronization solution.  They just had too many problems and issues with security and privacy.  I have now transitioned to SpiderOak (or use this link to sign up and we’ll both get some refer-a-friend credit).  I have it running on my laptops and PCs.  For my Android devices, they have an app as well.  The only shortfall relative to Dropbox is I cannot (yet) upload files from the devices to the SpiderOak folders and have them sync so they are available on my computers.  That feature is supposedly on its way though.

Within the last couple weeks, I was also greeted with news that Logos Bible Software has finally released the beta version of their Android app.  I managed to get in on the private beta testing, though it has now gone public.  Still has a lot of work to be on par with the iPhone/iPad version.  But it is nice to at least have access to my library.

Speaking of reading on the tablet, I installed the Kindle app and downloaded a book I used to study for my recent CAPM certification renewal.  Not sure impressed is the right word, but I like the form factor and reading on the tablet more than I thought I would.  So now I’ll have to resist the urge to buy ebooks through Amazon!

I am also testing an app called Slashtop Remote HD.  This lets me control/view my PC through the tablet.  I have tested it and it works great when running on the local network.  I have not yet attempted to punch a hole through my firewall to see if I can establish a connection external to the local network.  But if that works as good as it did on the LAN, it will be sweet.

I think the only other tablet app of note at this point is the Accuweather app for the tablet.  While still buggy (as I find all the weather apps for any mobile device to be), I find it works well on the 10″ tablet and is relatively stable.

And in case you are wondering, yes, Angry Birds works on the tablet!

As some folks know, a “skill” I’ve managed to pickup over the past couple years is the creation of routes for the GPS unit I use in my MINI. This is useful since many of our runs and rallies do not consist of the shortest route from A to B and being able to preprogram the route helps (mostly) avoid missed turns. One of my goals when I started doing them was to be able to share the routes with others in the club so they too could load them on their MINIs. It always helps to have more than one person know where they are going. So I frequently put together route files and post them on the THMMC site.

However, on occasion I find fellow motorers who need some help on the process to get the file from the Internet and onto their GPS. Especially since some care has to be taken in how you save the file. This guide will hopefully help those trying to use my routes (or anyone else’s routes).

Some Basics

Before getting into the whole process, let’s talk a little bit about what we are dealing with and what one needs to use the files. First up – hardware. To really make use of the route files, you will need a GPS that can load it. The routes I put together are for Garmin GPS units (alas, one day I may be able to invest in a good TomTom (which an Ease is not what I would consider a “good” TomTom) to figure out how to do a conversion). Specifically, a Garmin that can do “multi stop routing” is what is needed. You can find the models that support this on the Garmin web site using their product search function. If you already have a Garmin that does not have this feature, the files may still be useful to you as they will load as a bunch of Favorites and you can call them up as your destination (or manually create the route, which would not be too terribly difficult with my naming schemes).

The other thing I will note is that the files produced are .gpx files. If you open one, you will discover that it is really just a text file containing an XML schema. So it is not something magical. The biggest problem I see with this though is it makes working with the files a bit of a challenge. Browsers, because they see it as nothing more than a text file, like to just open them in a new window/tab if you click on the link to them. And depending on how your operating system works, it may want to automatically append a .txt file extension.

Finally, the screenshots below were all done on Windows Vista using Firefox 5.0 or on my Garmin, which is a 755 unit (a bit dated, but reliable). If you are using a different OS, browser, or Garmin model, there will obviously be differences. Hopefully you can figure out what you need to do using this.

Saving the File

The first step is to find the file and save it. Below is a screenshot of the post I made for the Blue Ridge Parkway Tour gpx file. As you can see, I have right-clicked on the link to the file and I’m ready to do a “Save Link As…”

Upon doing that, I decide where to save it. You might notice my browser thinks it is a Text Document (which is ok), but it is saving the .gpx extension (and only the .gpx extension). Remember where this directory is for later.

Getting the File Onto the Garmin

Now that we have saved the file to our computer, the next step is to copy it over to the Garmin. To start this process, plug the Garmin into your computer using the USB cable. This should cause the Garmin to power on as a USB device and on most computers, after a few seconds of waiting, will result in something similar to the Autoplay dialog box opening as shown below:

When that opens, select the option to open the folder to view files. Once that is open, you need to navigate to the Garmin/GPX folder. That is the location where you need to copy the file to. For this guide, as shown below, I’ve opened a second window where I saved the file initially, and I then copy and paste it into the folder on the Garmin:

Once copied over, you can close your windows and disconnect the Garmin from the computer as that ends the part of the process that involves the computer.

Importing the Route on the Garmin

The rest of our steps occur on the Garmin. The first step is to navigate to the tools area of the Garmin and scroll down to find “My Data”:

Select that to bring up the next screen:

On that screen you select “Import Route from File”. If everything has worked as planned, you should be presented with a list of the routes that are in the file. May be one route, may be several. In our example here, you can see there are several routes included. I’ve gone ahead and selected all of them to be imported:

Then hit the “Import” button and watch the magic progress:

Until the unit reports the import was successful. If you then back out from there, you’ll eventually get back to the screen where the “My Data” icon was. You should have another icon there (technically it was there all along, I’m just now mentioning it) for “Custom Routes”. If you click on that, you will discover the list of routes:

Select one of the routes to go to the next screen that gives you some basic info about the route and options to “Go”, “Edit” or “Preview” (and I suppose “Back” is an option as well):

For now I’ll just Preview the route and I see that it is in there (and for now, without zooming in to check things out, I’ll assume it is accurate):

And that is it – you are ready to motor following a pre-programmed route

Hope this helps anyone have trouble. If you still experience problems though, please feel free to contact me. And if you want to donate a good TomTom that supports their version of routes to me for testing…