Frosty The Snowman

I spent some time with my son today.

We had a great time making our snowman!!!

Merry Christmas To All!

O Christmas Tree

Russ: "Dad, didn't they invent christmas tree lots so people wouldn't have to drive all the way out to nowhere and waste a whole saturday?"
Clark: "They invented them Russ because people forgot how to have a fun old fashioned family christmas, and are satisfied with scronny, dead, overpriced trees that have no special meaning."
Audrey: "My toes are numb."
Clark: "You see kids, this is what our forefathers did."
Audrey: "I can't feel my leg."
Clark: "They walked out into the woods, they picked out that special tree and they cut it down with their bare hands."
Audrey: "Mom, I can't feel my hips!"
Ellen: "Clark."
Clark: "Yes, honey?"
Ellen: "Audrey's frozen from the waste down."
Clark: "Ah, it's all part of the experience, honey."

~National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Sometimes "Super" Sucks

I'm going to tell you something that my wife has known for years. Just because it has "super" in the title doesn't mean it's better. When I say this I'm referring of course to the super centers (ie. Super Target, etc). This time of year the only "super" thing about them is that they are a super pain in the ass.

You pull up to the super center. You park a mile from the store because everyone and their brother is trying to get their shopping done. When you finally make it to the store you are bumping elbows with the same "everybody and their brother" that beat you into the store and parked closer. Getting in the store is only half the walking. You then need to walk another quarter of a mile because the department you need is on the other side of the store, which happens to be the size of a small city. When you get to the department you get disappointed because the same "everybody and their brother" that beat you into the store and bumped elbows with you as you walked to the department also wanted the same thing and bought them all so the item is out of stock...

An hour later, 3 miles of walking, and several elbows to the gut later you are finally back in your car with nothing to show for the past hour of effort. Oh, the joys of Christmas shopping!

From one procrastinator to potentially another. Do yourself a favor and look for the store that doesn't have "super" in the title. Even if that means shopping at "Target" instead of "Super Target." I guarantee they will be stocking the same thing for the same price and without nearly the traffic.

Even if the cost is a bit more at the non "super" center, consider the extra charge a fee for hassle free shopping. A fee that I feel is well worth the couple extra bucks.

The Brain: Friend or Foe?

While driving home yesterday a spotted a young girl on the side of the road. I didn't think anything of it as my headlights illuminated her, until she raised her thumb. I was pretty shocked. Here is a young girl, in the dark, hitching a ride from strangers. I pulled over.

I was ready to drive her back to her place and lecturing her on the dangers of hitch hiking. When I got to her place I intended to let her parents know what she was doing. However, that all changed as she approached my vehicle.

Instead of seeing the ignorant little girl, I saw a girl who was sobbing tears and obviously in a state of panic. I quickly shook off my parenting mode and asked what was wrong and how I could help.

She stated how she was trying to find her way home, but got lost and couldn't figure out how to get home. At that moment I totally understood how she felt.

Several years ago while hiking on a mountain trail I came to a point where the trail became obstructed by deep snow. I continued hiking on top of the snow for several hundred feet. I turned around to try and locate where the trail was when I became disoriented in the trees. At that moment I had a surge of adrenaline that effected my thinking.

The mind is a powerful tool that can be a person's biggest asset. At this particular time; it was my biggest adversary . As I frantically scanned for the trail, the adrenaline continued to flow, the panic increased, and an irrational fear began to take over.

This happened to me as an adult when I was only a couple hundred feet from a trail. Fortunately, I was able to harness my thoughts and was prepared with a map and a GPS. Within a couple minutes I was back on track.

When this same series of events happens to an undeveloped mind I can easily imagine why the little girl was in a state of panic. As she sat in my truck I could visibly see her fear decrease. She stopped crying and within a few minutes she was able to orient herself. Mind you, we hadn't driven anywhere yet. The difference was her mind was able to think clearly when she felt in control. It was amazing to see.

The good news is that we were able to find her home and she was a good distance from it. I drove away and today I'm still amazed at how the brain, which gives us our sense of reason is able to turn on us at times when we need reason most of all.

Take It On A Spin

Wanted to share my most recent CD purchase, which has been getting a lot of spin time in my CD player. The new CD by Ryan Adams called Easy Tiger has been on my "should I get this" list for a while. I've heard a couple of his songs (Two, Everybody Knows) played repeatedly on KBCO for the last couple months. This past weekend I made the decision to buy it.

I've been putting it in my various players these last couple days in an effort to listen to the entire disc. I do this because I don't want the CD to listen to two songs. I want to be able to stick it in the player, forget about it, and enjoy it.

After the first couple plays I was a bit concerned that I wasn't going to like it. However, I've listened to it 6 times now and each time I've enjoyed it more. I have a feeling this will be a regular for a while.

Next on my list is Strangers Almanac by Whiskeytown (also Ryan Adams). A friend/co-worker saw Easy Tiger on my desk and offered Strangers Almanac. He praised it as one of his favorite albums of all time. With that kind of praise I'm going to have to take it on a spin.

2007 Post-Mortem

Post-Mortem: discussion of an event after it has occurred.

In the tech industry this term is used primarily to describe the meeting that takes place after a code release. All those involved (Developers, QA, Product, Etc.) get into a room and talk about every aspect of the last release cycle. The cool things about these meetings is that not only is every aspect talked about, but all perspectives have representation in the meeting. During this meeting everyone has a voice to discuss what went right and what went wrong.

Sometimes - in poorly organized meetings - it becomes a blame game and everyone points fingers. In environments where employees are able to check their pride at the door and accept "constructive criticism" these meetings can be incredibly useful.

The whole point of the Post-Mortem is to take an honest look and see where strengths are and where areas of improvement are needed. Both are equally important to recognize in yourself.

It is easy to gloss over success stories, but time should be given in order fully understand why those were success stories. This analysis will help you learn your strengths and as importantly, where there were breakdowns that could be further optimized. Looking at strengths will also reconfirm that things are going well. As humans we tend to need that reassurance.

Areas of improvement can be a touchy subject, but the thing to remember is that nobody and no process is free from its scope. Even the best success story has ways in-which it can be improved the next time. This is where egos need to be checked at the door and a willingness to learn has to take front and center. Plus, it only does good if you are willing to tell it how you see it. At times people are too sheepish to express how they feel; thinking that it will cause a ripple in the pond. However, during the next cycle they will most likely see it happen again until they face the deprecated process, analyze it, then optimise it.

So why am I telling you all of this?

Go back and read this again, but this time apply it to cycling. Think of your last release as the 2007 cycling season. It is time to look back at your past success and failure. Only then, if you are honest with yourself, will you be able to begin to plan for next season.

There is more to a Post-Mortem meeting than analysing strengths and weaknesses. There are action items and goals, but i think I will be taking this in stride. In fact, I'll be taking baby steps and my first step will be to analyse my 2007 cycling season.

More to come...

Collaboration Is Key To Revival Of Extra Dirt!

Over the course of the past two years a section of TrailCentral.com called Extra Dirt! has undergone several identity changes. At first it was a news and review section, then it was kind of a catch all for any trail write-ups that didn't fit in the Trail of the Month, then it had several great reviews and interviews written by Kyle Henley. However, it never produced enough content on a regular basis to make it interesting for visitors to TrailCentral. As a result it has hit rock bottom in terms of the number of views it receives on a daily basis.

I hope to change that and I believe that collaboration is key to the revival of Extra Dirt! I would like to collaborate with several other authors who have a passion to write about mountain biking or have a strong personality that mountain bikers would find interesting to read.

I've already spent time revamping Extra Dirt! this past week and I've made it easy for anyone who wishes to contribute!

I know what some of you are thinking, "What's in it for me? Sure, you get content, but what do I get?" Over the past several months TrailCentral has again become my passion and more importantly a hobby. I'm able to handle the costs of hosting and I love to develop it, so I'm not interested in the business side, which requires that I make money from the site. In fact, I'm proposing that I don't make any profits from your content. Instead, I hope you make profits from your content posted to Extra Dirt! on TrailCentral.com and this is how I propose to do that.

Those who submit content will need to have a blog and a Google AdSense account. When visitors click on your article in Extra Dirt! they will view your glorious written words as well as dynamically generated ads by Google. When those ads are click, you (not I) will get credit since it is your AdSense ads being served. In addition, links to the original article and the blog from which it came will be included.

This seems like a win-win situation for the author, doesn't it?

So let me recap in super simple bullet type formatting.

All you need:

1. Blog with an RSS Feed (Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, etc...)
2. An AdSense Account
3. Written Words: reviews, write-ups, news, personal training log, industry thoughts, whatever!

What you get:

1. Your Google AdSense ads displayed whenever your article is read.
2. All money generated from your articles goes into your pocket.
3. Links from Extra Drit! to your blog, thus increasing your blog traffic (read: You are potentially making money to attract visitors. The more you write the better chance you'll make money.)
4. A filtered look at your blog. You can write about your pet dog on your blog and not worry about it showing up in Extra Dirt! However, write about cycling and it will appear in Extra Dirt!

What I get:

1. A revitalization of Extra Dirt!
2. A repository of some of the best sport specific content in one location.
3. A collaborative effort that will introduce me to new people and friends that love the sport.

If you are interested (And I hope some of you are) in becoming a contributing author, please let me know by contacting me at [trailcentral at gmail dot com].

Tour Trails Live Using Google Earth

A couple weeks ago I read about a new mashup Lijit had created called Lijit Live 3D. This mashup place marks searches done on the Lijit Network and flys you to the location on Google Earth. I downloaded the KML file and it was indeed entrancing for a couple minutes. I honestly thought, "That is cool! I don't understand why they did it, but it is cool." I envision it being one of those cool ways to display your success in an office foyer.

Much like Google would project all the searches currently being done on a wall. I imagine this to be a 2.0 version where those same searches are now being represented geographically. A cool approach to display information that is otherwise pretty boring.

While reading the blog post (Lijit 3D Live With Google Earth), it stated that development of this mashup was "trivial." That intrigued me. I don't necessarily know why that sparked my interest. I consider Google to be masters of simplicity. I've never known them to over-engineer the apps they allow hack developers like me to play around with.

After I closed the KML file for Lijit Live 3D I didn't expect I would revisit the mashup.

Throughout the next week it was business as usual, but every now and then I would think of the word "trivial" as used to describe the ease in which the mashup was created. Oddly, the term "trivial" turned into "How did they do that?" Finally, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to sit down on my computer and figure out how they did it.

A couple trips to the Lijit website, a few minutes reviewing the Google KML documentation, 2 cups of coffee, and 1 hour later I had it figured out and working on TrailCentral. I then spent another 5 hours making it pretty.

So would I call it trivial? Yeah, I think that was a good choice of words. The amount of work done for the amount of "cool" you get makes the development "trivial."

So imitation is the highest source of flattery, but in today's world you need to not just imitate, but build upon. Obviously my website is a directory of trail information, maps, and local bike shops, which is much different than what Lijit does.

Lijit has a large user base which makes the Google Earth map zip around the globe. TrailCentral is Colorado based and focuses on mountain biking. During the month of December it receives about 1/17 the visitors it gets during the peak seasons of Spring, Summer, and Fall. So currently it lacks the zippity-zip-zip that entrances visitors of the Lijit 3D map, but there is a silver lining.

The live map I created basically allows those who view the map to take a tour of TrailCentral, while being guided by visitors currently browsing the website. It will lack the zip, but in its place I've added information about the last trail or bike shop visited on TrailCentral.

This currently isn't live on my website (meaning not everyone can access it). I'm currently only giving those who read this blog the ability to take it for a spin. (read: Aren't you special....)

However, I can talk about it all day or you could just download the KML file and check it out yourself.

For those interested, here are a few details:

• When you click to download the KML file you will be asked how you want to open it. Open it with Google Earth. If you don't have Google Earth, download it here.
• You will be automatically taken to the last trail, map or local bike shop that was visited on TrailCentral.com
• Google Earth will check for an updated location every 60 seconds. Remember, this is a tour, sit back and relax. Nobody likes to be rushed while touring a place.
• While you are viewing the last location, click on the place marker. This will give you "Facts at a Glance." The most important information about the place mark as well as a link to go directly to that web page to learn more.

Don't believe it is real time? Have Google Earth open in one window and Visit TrailCentral.com in a second window. Visit a couple of the trail or local bike shop pages and within seconds you will be flown to that location. Here are a couple links to make it easy for you.

• Local Bike Shop - Dean Ultimate Bicycles
• GPS Map - Grays Peak
• Trail Page - Slickrock Trail

Finally, I gotta give my kudos to Lijit for making such a cool mashup. Cool enough for me to want to imitate it. For those that view the TrailCentral Tour, I'm sure you will enjoy it for a couple minutes and then never visit it again.

I on the other hand love to have the ability to view what is happening on my site in semi-real time while grounding cyberspace to specific place marks on Mother Earth.

Cold Days = Movies and Coffee

The cold and snow we've had on the Front Range these past couple days has kept me indoors, huddled under a blanket, watching movies and drinking coffee.

Here is what I consider must see movies during the Christmas season.

• It's a Wonderful Life
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• The Grinch (Cartoon)

Plus, my wife got me hooked on a poor man's mocha.

• 8 Ounces Freshly Brewed Coffee
• 1 Tablespoon French Vanilla CoffeMate (Powder)
• 2 Andes Mints

This is yummy and strangely addictive. I've had several cups, which is why I'm wired at 11PM. Oh well, it is worth it. I'll just pop another movie in the player...

Terrain View on GPS Maps!

A couple days ago I wrote about how much I loved the new Terrain view offered by Google, but I misspoke when I thought the view wasn't yet integrated into the Google Maps API.

A simple comment posted by Pamela Fox revealed a single line of code needed to implement the Terrain view on my GPS Maps.

5 minutes later (it took 4 minutes to login to my server) and the change was made, making all my maps in the GPS Maps section of TrailCentral default to the new Terrain view. It looks great! Thank you Pamela!!!

Check out some examples:
Monarch Crest - Multiuse Trail
14ers - Grays and Torreys Combo - Hiking Only

Update: For those that don't read the comments, I wanted to draw your attention to a good write-up ( v2.94: Terrain and a New MapTypeControl to show it off!) regarding the terrain view via Google Maps API, written by Pamela Fox.

Local Bike Shop Directory Overhaul

About the time I posted that I would be taking a break from my computer, I got a huge flow of creative juices that I have captured and used as midnight oil to burn into the wee hours of the night.

To be honest it started with this email, which got me to thinking about my site and the experience I would like others to have on it. TrailCentral has always been a place where visitors could come and post their feeling about trails and bike shops freely and anonymously. The email I refer to was from a visitor that felt a shop was being unfairly reviewed and felt a need for users to be registered before allowing them to post reviews.

My initial reaction was, "Hell No!" Mostly because I felt that TrailCentral was a small website and part of the charm was that visitors could leave anonymous feedback. Matter of fact, I still do think that, but I must say my initial reaction changed a bit.

When I responded to the email, I stated that I believe visitors of TrailCentral could easily spot poor reviews. To prove this I wanted to implementing a way for users to rank comments.

When I started panning out the details on how to do this I found that my general attitude changed a bit. I did some coding and as a result I came to the conclusion that I would only allow registered users to submit reviews. However, my dilemma was that I wanted them to still feel "safe" by posting anonymously... Hmmm.

The answer was pretty simple. I opted to omit the form to non-registered users and only display the form to review a shop to those who are logged into the system. When submitting a review users are able to change their username and instead use an alias.

This would give a certain degree of credibility to the review since they are only submitted by those registered with TrailCentral, while giving them the sense of anonymity if desired when posting a review. If a review is submitted with an alias, there is no way to backtrack to who submitted this review.

Back to the original reason I started to work on the code in the first place. I wanted to add the ability for visitors to rank reviews based on how useful they are.

I truly feel that those that visit TrailCentral are intelligent individuals that are able to spot bogus reviews. To ensure this, I wanted to add a comment ranking system that wouldn't require a lot of coding while still being powerful. Most importantly it needed to be seamless to the user. Basically, I didn't want to cause a refresh each time a visitor ranked a review because I didn't want the load on the server and I wanted it to be extremely usable. Thankfully, I was able to use AJAX and the result is a kick-ass rating system that works similarly to the rating stars you would find on big sites like NetFlix.

So, once I got that working as I wanted I started looking around the rest of the local bike shop directory, which lead to a waterfall of ideas and motivation to fix things that I've been working around for a long time. Many late nights later and I think the local bike shop directory has been sufficiently overhauled... for now.

If you get a minute, please take the time to visit the Local Bike Shop directory and rank a view reviews, click around the directory, and most importantly let me know what you think. I'm all ears.

Major changes to the Local Bike Shop Directory:

• Visitors or logged in users are able to add bike shops.
• Visitors are no longer able to give a review until they register or sign in.
• Visitors are able to rank any review.
• Google Maps API was updated to include more features on State, County, and City search pages.
• Google Map added to each of the shop pages for better visual representation of the shop location

Terrain View Added To Google Maps

I'm going to go tech on you for a couple posts...

About a week ago I started reading posts about how Google Maps has added a "Terrain" option to their lineup of map views. I took a look and instantly fell in love. This is what I've wanted for TrailCentral since I added their API a couple years ago. The only way they could make me happier is if they added topographical information to the terrain view. Then those of us that use the Google Map API for outdoor sports (specifically trail information) such as my website, TrailCentral.com or a much bigger website, MotionBased.com will be able to offer the best level of trail detail to our visitors.

Unfortunately, the terrain view option is only available on Google Maps and has not yet been integrated into the Google Maps API. When it does, I assure you that the default map setting of the GPS Maps on TrailCentral will be updated from satellite imagery to the new terrain view.

Here is an example of the terrain view centered on Boulder, CO:

View Larger Map