Fat guy tries to run - Part 4: I see you have good stamina, here's my number...

Trust me - if I can run 5km without stopping, anyone can run 5km without stopping. What kind of bothered me though was the number of messages I got after the race asking me if I was alright, because some (other) 27 year old dude died on the course (RIP). Thanks friends.

Anyway, that's the first race under my belt and I have to admit that it was pretty damn exciting. I've never participated in such a huge anything before and with all the spectators and other racers shit got real. Real real.



In retrospect, 5km really isn't that long and unlike the marathoners you can basically power through the cold, thirst or any minor bodily struggle that you might have. I'm pretty thankful that A) my knee didn't explode and B) I didn't run out of gas, because it would have been very uncool to have to walk past the finish line.

Turns out the excitement and adrenaline actually does come into play because randoms cheering you on is pimp. Coming up to the last km or so I could not believe how many people were there screaming for just about anyone - makes you feel all good inside.



Getting down there was a real pain too because apparently the fact that 20000+ people were participating didn't register properly with my brain. And so I thought traffic, parking and the whole shuttle bus fiasco would have been no sweat...

Noob move of the day: despite the fact that it (actually) came with instructions, I broke the strap on the timing chip. Solution? Silly looking scotch tape.



So the start is organized into corrals, which doesn't mean much in a mass start apparently. Everyone lines up and funnels through the start gate to activate their timing chip, then the race is on.

Check the corral out - I'm out front in the red corral, and (I think) there were at least 2 more huge ass crowds behind me. Even at this point I need to make my way to the Automotive Building ahead, turn right, then pass the actual start line about 100 yards out. Since my math is awesome I can tell you that it actually took 2:12 to get from here to the timing mats. Lambs to the slaughter.



After that you're basically breaking ankles dancing around people just to get past them and make some space. The first km is like an arcade game because a whole bunch of people are trying to do the exact same thing.

For timing there's gun time (the time started when the official fires the gun) and chip time (your actual recorded time when passing the start and finish lines). Booyah technology, but unfortunately your overall rank is actually determined by the gun time. That's nonsense because unless you're right at the start when the gun goes off then you don't stand a chance (against the black people).

The one thing that threw me off was that there weren't any distance markers along the way. I had my Timex with me but judging pace was pretty messed up since you're all excited and everyone is doing different things. It's a good thing that I had a few practice runs under my belt or else I wouldn't have had any idea how fast I should be going.



I won't lie, my pace was pretty much determined by the hottest girl I could keep up with, so the whole race your own race game plan where I had pace/km planned out pretty much just turned into me juking out dudes and chasing girls. The plan seemed to work though because it was my best time ever and up until that last stretch, where I started to sprint run faster, I felt pretty smooth.

It wasn't until the very end where I saw the 500m mark, 200m mark and the finish gate that things really registered with me because time passed so quickly. I felt like a boss running through the grandstands and when Jeff magically spotted and cheered me on I went Super Saiyan 2. PS: I can't wait to buy my finish line photo.

This is the scene just after the finish. Tons of medals, Gatorade, heat blankets and food for all the finishers. I even saw some vomit on the ground.



So it was a hell of a lot of fun and I would definitely do it again. Since the fastest time of the day was about 15:30, I guess I have a lot of work to do. While I don't think my knee would be able to survive that lightspeed jump required to do a half or full marathon yet, I'm down for more 5km action until I build up to that kind of thing.

Look at me now hater, look at me now.



Next year I'm going to wear my GoPro just to capture how much dodging a guy actually has to do.

Fat guy tries to run - Part 3: IT'S GAME TIME

So in the handful or so runs that I've done leading up to this Sunday I've determined that it takes me about 2km before I get into any sort of groove. Up until that 2km mark it's pretty hard times, but after that the struggle feels more or less the same until I eventually pick it up for the finish.

With that being said here's the plan: a good solid warm up, relaxed running until the 1-1.5km mark, go faster and faster after every km after that, and then in the last 1km to 500m run as hard as I can. If I don't pull any noob moves then I should clock in around 28 minute mark, but I'll also have to see how excitement and adrenaline comes into play.

While training didn't go exactly as planned, I think I succeeded in at least getting an idea of what my pace should be like so I don't burn out immediately. Here are my last 2 runs - check out that Run Keeper manual input cheese (Timex FTW). Just a nice walk tomorrow and that's it.



One of the things I was wondering about was how they manage timing everyone. The ridiculous thought of volunteer high school kids holding clip boards and trying to read the number on your chest crossed my mind, but turns out that science stepped in to legitimize the whole deal. I'm not exactly sure how this mass start works though, but I can imagine it adding some unnecessary time as you try to make your way through that initial crowd.

Anyway, as I mentioned before I can't wait to eat the night before. I'm not quite sure what it will entail but it's going to be delicious. Believe.

So I probably shouldn't have eaten this yesterday either but that's how I roll...The High Priest - Burger's Priest answer to the Big Mac. I added in the panko breaded deep fried jalapenos and I don't think I have to say that it was very delicious tasting.



Time to carb up!

Why hello there iOS 5.

It's true what they say, you never really hear anyone complain about switching to an iPhone or talk about how hard it is to use. Although I may be a fan boy you can't deny that it works well.

So this new version of iOS dropped yesterday and I installed it. While it isn't exactly ground breaking, it definitely makes things a little more convenient. One of the features that I was looking forward to is iMessage. It's basically BBM for your iPhone that's integrated with the regular Messages app. No silly BB pin to deal with either.

Basically, when you message someone it will consult the cloud (or something like that) and determine if you're sending it to an Apple device/account and, if so, pump fake your carrier, do a 720 no scope right in SMS's face and use your data plan instead. It all happens quickly and automatically, so you don't even need to try.

Bottom line: when you sext someone blue = iMessage and green = SMS.



iOS is now integrated with iCloud too. While I haven't figured out yet exactly what that means, I know that I have 5GB of storage somewhere, stuff needs it to run and parts of my iPhone can sync to it. There's also default integration with the Find My iPhone app as well, which is pretty cool for stalking yourself.

For those who use Stanza, Newsstand is there and pretty useless...and you can't even hide it in a folder. Great. (Update: turns out Stanza is not stable on iOS 5 in the least...)



Photos and the camera also got a little improvement too. You can enable a grid, do some basic editing and FINALLY create and organize photos into albums. That just took them forever.



Another one of the big things is Notifications - they all of a sudden copied Android got pimp. No longer do we have to deal with those lame blue bubbles popping up and interrupting your intense gaming session work-flow because it's been re-vamped.

You can still have those notifications pop up if you want, but they've introduced a less aggressive pull down screen consolidating all your important information at a glance. Smart.



Looks like notifications can remind you how boring your life is just about anywhere except for the lock screen. Just swipe down and that tab appears for you to pull down.



Although I was kind of disappointed to find out that Siri will only run on the 4S for now, the idea of talking to a robot is still kind of lame to me unexplored territory, so not a huge loss at this point. But we will see...

Promag Marauder Magazine Review (HINT: AA922 sucks)

So I've had some pretty lame issues with the ProMag Marauder magazine included with my kit, as in it was totally unusable out of the box. One of the risks of pre-ordering a brand new product? It might have issues, and apparently mine did.

I've heard that the feed lips were faulty on some of the first batch runs, so I'm guessing that I got one of those. I'll admit that the lips looked pretty sloppy and my doubts were confirmed as it would not feed properly - rounds kept jamming just below the lips so they would never make it into the chamber.

Here's what mine looks like now compared to something that actually works...



I did do the sanding trick and the lips do seem to feed WAY more consistently, but I shouldn't have had to do something like that in the first place.

That trick was to basically sanding down the insides so that the follower can move a little more freely in order to push the rounds though the magazine and lips.



I did contact the dealer I got mine from to see if it was covered by warranty, but he said that "You will need to contact promag directly for replacement if that is needed. No spare parts are given to dealers." I don't know if that's exactly true since, from what I understand, Hical.ca is distributing lips for warranty and also selling replacements.

I did try to contact ProMag though, but emails to tech support are like messages in a bottles thrown into an ocean...



One of the other issues I've been having is that it's really difficult to load more than 15 rounds into it. On top of that wire which keeps cutting your finger, trying to get too many rounds in there is proving to be a real pain.

It was actually bending the casing of the previous rounds because they were so hard to push in.



One possible solution? A speed loader.



Unfortunately, while the magazine does fit in (even with the sleeve on) it jams and ruins even more rounds. I didn't just spin the loader knob like a savage, I twisted it slowly just to see if it would load, but it didn't.

It would keep jamming after 2 or 3 rounds, possibly because of the messed up lips or that guide wire. I think they need to improve their design because that guide wire is so troublesome.



I've heard rumors that they might sell steel lip replacements, and I'll jump on those as soon as they're out, but in the meanwhile I might order some plastic replacements just so I can get some use out of the magazine this year.

I've learned my lesson with the pre-ordering, so I'll probably get more Marauder mags sometime next year after they work out all the bugs. What a shame.



Looks goofy but works. Oh well...

Gobble Gobble...

What a grab bag of fun and exhausting activities this weekend has been...

All I can say is that I better do some exercise soon because I can feel my ass jiggling from the amount of delicious food I consumed over the past 3 days. Since RunKeeper tells me that my single unit of exercise over the weekend burned a solid 484 calories, turns out deep fried lobster and lava cakes are delicious I have a pretty big mountain to climb.



Anyway, the race is on Sunday and while my training has been going OK I haven't ran as many 5km pieces as I think I should. I will probably also pick up some running swag this week so at least I don't look like a complete noob at the start line, and I'd also like to say that I'm probably looking forward to carbing up the night before way too much.

Seeing as how half the people in the 5 km will probably be walking while pushing strollers I'm expecting the competition/hate to be strong, come race day.



The final plan is a 3km + 5km + 4km this week leading up to the main event. If all goes well I should land a sub 29 minute time which is a personal best (by default).



I also picked up these things called KontrolFreeks after learning that a bunch of the top YT commentators use them on their Onzas.

I won't lie, since my PS3 game is pretty weak I'll take any advantage I can get. I now have $20 worth of extra swag, hanging off my knobs and buttons trying to help my clumsy fingers out. Although awkward at first, the KontrolFreeks made a real difference in control and I'm pretty sure removing them at any point would now be crippling. While that isn't saying much, I'll do anything to get that K/D up. Crutches anyone?

Unfortunately, the BF3 servers were down most of the weekend so I didn't actually get to play that much. Yes, that's me and I somehow got stuck below the soil. There's a ton of bugs in this beta, so I'm expecting a huge first patch once I buy this game on the 25th.



I'll post something of actual content tomorrow (once I'm somewhat recovered)...

This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.

I still can't help but to smile when I watch that goofy lip sync video - it was hilarious to make and it's hilarious to watch. Don't deny it.

So this weekend I'll go ahead and give thanks to my so called friends for bearing with me and helping put together all those ridiculous videos throughout the year...NOT! Because I'm still a hater after all, FYI. Enjoy the dry turkey.



TGI-Thanksgiving long weekend FTW! (I'm just going to play the Battlefield 3 Beta for 3 days straight -mwah)

Final Cut Pro X: First impressions...

Take it with a bag full of salt from a guy who's been using Final Cut Pro X for only 6 hours: the thing works just fine. For the most part it's pretty dope (sort of like the new Facebook timeline) and while some people might complain that it's too simple (sort of like the new Facebook timeline), I just gotta know exactly what kind of editing you might be doing where you need to complain that a powerful tool is holding you back too much?

Maybe if you make CSI type shots zooming into semen stains, highlighting the DNA in infrared and then reversing time then yeah, you might need to go pretty deep with an application like this. But for the everyday regular normal guy YouTuber that just likes to fool around, I'm going to guess that this will be more power than 85% of us would ever need. Rest assured that you're still going to be able to do your ridiculous page turning transitions and glowing neon text, and the fact that there's already a million canned transitions/titles/effects included out of the box just means that it'll be easier for you to cause seizures.

I'm basically going to complain about having to deal with a learning curve for the next few paragraphs, so if you're not interested just scroll to the bottom to just catch my first ever edit.

So, I made the initial decision to use Adobe Premiere Pro about 2 years ago based on the fact that the menus in FCP were too small for me to read...so it was a pretty arbitrary decision.



I guesstimate that in my 2 years of making videos with Premiere that I'm tapping into about 42% of the functions that the application has to offer. So will FCPX be sufficient for my intense fade in/out tansitions? So let's check out this pimped out version of iMovie.



Although it's new, the interface doesn't have me that shook because I can already find 75% of what I need to do. Unfortunately, that last 25% of stuff is probably going to take me a few (more) days just to figure out because I still haven't found it yet.

Other than that, things are snappy, my computer doesn't seem to struggle (that much) and it works just fine...I just don't know what I'm doing.

The Timeline

Get your magnets out because the game is about to change (again (hah)). It truly is different from the classical way of organizing things, and clips are easily grouped, moved, swapped and cut much faster.

From what I understand you have your primary "event" and all other things snap onto and you should organize you media that way. I have no idea what I'm talking about.

First of all, zooming is a mess. Because I like to try and sync things to music I'm always zooming in to see the song's waveform. Unfortunately it's pretty damn un-intuitive in FCPX, or just doesn't work the way it does in Premiere, which is the way I expect it to work.

Maybe it's because the thumbnails actually scale/snapshots change in the timeline that's throwing me off, but my timeline also had problems where clips would disappear sporadically or snap to the very end of the main event.

I basically don't end up looking at the right place. I'm assuming they're going to fix this soon because it's totally wack.



Secondly, enlarging thumbnails works differently. While in Premiere you can just grab the corners/edges and expand, FCPX works like Aperture and Finder Apple (HINT: look for light switches and sliders).



Organizing your swag

I don't know - maybe because I don't have crap loads of stuff to actually organize, but I don't think it's necessary. I just want to see my current project and that's it.



Effects, Transitions and Titles

All sorts of foolishness that I never use anyway. I honestly just want to use simple transitions and titles but I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHERE TO MAKE THEM AND NOT USE A CANNED ONE. That's frustrating.



101 effects out of the box...foolishness!

Clip Options

For the most part they're hidden and I don't know where to find or use most of them. I'm used to keyframes and actions on a timeline, not light switches and sliding menus.

For some effects you click on the clip and select one of the options in the (above screenshot) menu above effects. Then for the rest you can do directly on the clip, like drag a slider on it to fade sound and opacity in/out, or click on the top left menu on the clip to get more options. I wish it were more prominent/less clicks because I used functionality like that a lot with Premiere.



What I want to find is how to control opacity and audio with keyframes more precisely than just dragging sliders on the actual clip.

Exporting

The options here are pretty basic. I don't know if I'll eventually need Compressor, but the canned options are pretty weak.



And that's it. Once you select one of them you can't go much deeper.

I used video from my D90 for the first time ever and apparently it has only mono sound from the Left. This caused major audio distortion issues ONLY once uploaded to YouTube. On my computer it was fine, but on YT I got crazy ass right speaker distortion only after it gets processed online.

I actually finished this video on Sunday but it took me 3 days of trying different stuff to get it sounding correctly...and I don't even know what I did.

The only thing sweet about exporting is that there seems to be a lot of processing going on in the background, so when it's time for you to export it's pretty much already rendered. Sweet.

Final Thoughts...

It's different but not different bad, although much of my confusion can just probably be attributed to me not knowing what to look for.

I'm done with Adobe Premiere Pro for now I suppose.

Some things I like...

• It's fast...when it's not loading...
• The background rendering - when it's time to export your video it's basically already rendered and just needs to save somewhere.
• Skimming and cutting straight from the library is pimp.

Some things I hate...

• Limited export settings without Compressor. Really really limited.
• TIMELINE ZOOMING WHAT A NIGHTMARE. For the love of fresh ground beef patties fix timeline zooming.
• I wan't to see keyframe options on a timeline somehow.

Some things I need to find out how to do...

• How to use the damn magnetic timeline the way it's supposed to be used.
• Make titles properly. Is it me or does title text always seem choppy? And I don't even want an effect, just a plain title...
• Where are my keyframe options?!
• Auditions? I don't know what this is but it's in like every menu.
• Motion and Compressor? Probably not.
• How to use my second monitor as main timeline viewer. Come on.

Anyway, so here's my first edit with FCPX. I had dumb issues with the audio export that I still don't know how to solve and while this is probably not the best example of what FCPX can do, it's a perfect example of why heavy drinking and not very many other things go together. Unfortunately, inebriated people did not know how to press the record button properly so a couple takes weren't even recorded. What a shame!

It probably would have helped if the lyrics were actually accurate too...



What a mess! But we had a hell of a lot of fun. We'll try again next year.

Testing the waters with Final Cut.

So I've begun my dive into Final Cut Pro X and while things ain't exactly gravy, I shot some video with my SLR for the first time and did manage to knock out a 2 minute video in roughly 4 hours. I followed the usual process and although most of the trouble was just trying to figure out how to use the new interface it wasn't overly painful.

Maybe it's because of the oversimplified "Share" settings but after exporting/rendering my video to H.264 (which was ultra fast btw (apparently background rendering is great)) I laughed my ass off was happy with the result and uploaded it to YouTube. Unfortunately, when I went to watch it the audio was totally jacked. While it plays fine on my computer, something happened when YT processed it and the sound is all crackly and distorted. What up with that?

I don't know what this has to do with but it's pure cheese...



More on FCPX tomorrow...

Fat guy tries to run - Part 2: Running alone is mentally challenging...and I'm mentally weak.

So I forgot about this shirt I had in my gym bag and the thing had been brewing for like a week. I didn't know that it was possible for my body to make something smell so bad, especially since I smell like lavender and peaches 95% of the time. It was rotten. Really, really rotten.

Anyway, this week is supposed to be the grunt of my so called "training", but I must admit that last week didn't exactly go as planned...

I tried to do a 4km outdoor run but basically DNF. It ended up braking down into a 2.22/13 min and 1.43/7 min pieces. It was kind of disheartening. I ran 2km at the Y after boxfit on Tuesday and then the rest of the week was just filled with nonsense. I ran my ass off and slid thrice during my softball championships on Thursday, which didn't really help anything, but as a result I just jacked up my knees again.

In any case I learned 3 things :

ONE - I need to warm up. I always run post-practice or post-workout, so I'm already warmed up and loose. I should have known better because it's exactly the case when I ride too hard initially and just burn out/struggle for the first 30 mins. I guess that's what happens when you're out of shape Personally, I have a hard time jumping straight into exercise and with these cold temps I gotta get the blood going or probably get injured (again). So I'm old and need to ease in, but when your running pace is barely faster than a brisk walk, it's probably stretching or something that I have to do too.

TWO - It's lonely. At practice you're running against your team. On the track there's always people around to try and keep pace with. On the streets you're alone and it sucks. Maybe it's inexperience, but I have a hard time keeping a pace, judging distance and apparently climbing gentle slopes. I gave up, weak.

THREE - Technology helps/sucks. I've been trying to use that app called the RunKeeper but I really hate carrying/wearing my phone. I don't ever wear sunglasses or listen to music when I do any sports, and the armband is uncomfortable as hell. I hate the idea of this thing strapped on but I do like the fact that it tracks your progress and calls out your pace/time/distance. It's very useful so I think i'm going to have to buy a fanny pack or something...



And my knees are killing me. I tried to do it without a brace at first but then the thing just flared up and it's filled with juice. Apparently my thunder thighs legs got huge recently because my brace just cutting my circulation off and making my leg weak. I had to just use one of those tensor bands with a patella support hole. Having the knee of a 60 year old is weak sauce. I'm going for at least another 4 or 5 km this week. No matter what.

Nuit Blanche: Worst Tradition Ever

I'm pretty sure that I like the idea of Nuit Blanche much more than the actual event itself, mostly because it's just too damn busy (and I hate walking). It's the busiest you'll ever see Toronto at night, the art is borderline acceptable art and they didn't even give out free energy drinks this year.

I think I took a total of 8 pictures and they all sucked. Hard. There was no redemption, only more embarrassment and the shame of carrying around a 4 pound SLR (on my awesome BlackRapid) to remind me that waiting in lines in overcrowded areas isn't all that great.



It's more or less just a reason to get it and roam around with your so called friends because I know most of these people aren't having that much fun either. If it weren't for the BB party then don't know if I would have made the trip because this now 3-year old tradition is kind of getting weak (I'll probably still go next year).



I mean haven't you guys seen the movie Contagion? If somehow a diseased squirrel out in Algonquin had gotten eaten by a wolf, who would have eventually gotten eaten (and worn) by me, then that might have been the end of civilization as we know it.



Anyway, at least this other tradition still remains awesome - The Banana Boat Flip Cup Challenge: Rookies vs Veterans. The Veterans prevail once again, booyah.



Anyway, that's officially the end of that chapter, but I still have one trick left up my sleeve...if I actually manage to pull it off.



See you freaks next year!

Yeah...chicks are awesome at pool...NOT.