GPS.

I wanted to play with the new handheld GPS unit, so I took a quick and easy 5.5 mile urban hike around the Willamette River to generate some tracking data to experiment with. I crossed Hawthorne Bridge, went north on the Eastbank Esplanade (which includes a 1,200 foot floating walkway, the longest IN TEH WERLD! PWNED!!), crossed back over Steel Bridge, took an out-and-back detour on the walkway in front of the condos north of Steel Bridge, then finished the loop back south along Waterfront Park. A map generated by the GPS and MapSource software is here.

The features on this GPS is just sick. It tracks distance traveled, elevation changes, average speed, compass, autosets time of day, sunrise/sunset time for each day, stopwatch, calendar, calculator, and "sight 'n go" navigation (point unit at a far point such as a mountain peak to generate a waypoint, then calculate route and distance to it). Just before bed, I figured out how to upload more detailed maps from the MapSource software to the handheld unit. There's supposed to be all sorts of find waypoint features that I haven't even touched yet. Who knows what else this thing does. I'm pretty sure it's smarter than I am.

I'm thinking of dropping the gym membership. Nothing is more boring than grinding on an elliptical machine, especially when there are so many great hiking and running trails nearby. I can always replace the strength training with ashtanga and get similar benefits. Something to think about.