NikePlus Sports Watch Review
NikePlus Sportwatch
I’ve been trying to run more. It is one of the few things I can do on the road without excuses. After talking with a co-worker who really loved her nike+ but used a separate GPS I decided to make the plunge. First, the watch is expensive at $199 but you get nike+ and a TomTom GPS.
I like:
- The band, very comfortable
- Simple interface
- The pace function has been a big help in my running as I’m slower than molasses
- The reminders such as, “are we going running today?”
What needs improvement:
- The charger. It is USB only and has no wall option. Not great for the road when my laptop slots are full
- You need to plug it in to get some settings like intervals. It would be nice to have that option to turn that on or off on watch
- The time display is a little funky as in you will love it or hate it. Another format might be nice.
Would I buy it again: YES, It has helped me run faster and now if it could just shock me out of bed on a rainy 6am I’d be all set…
Starting your business with a spreadsheet
I get a request a week from someone in my network looking for advice in turning their concept into a business. There are a ton of talented people with great ideas but I like to get people thinking about, ”Does your idea support enough margin and a large enough market to build a business?” The reply I usually get is; “All the people(read friends & family) that I have talked to LOVE the idea.” There is a big difference between a hobby that you love and business that can support you paying the rent. Just because you love to cook does not mean you are cut out to build a menu with the margin needed to pay the rent on 5,000 square feet of restaurant on Church Street. The majority of people I talk to might be better off keeping their endeavor at the hobby level. Where it is still fun, the time commitment is manageable, and the extra money makes for a nice winter vacation to the Caribbean. Don’t get me wrong I’m a huge supporter of starting your own endeavor. I’m on my 6th and we clearly need more entrepreneurs/small business owners in America. All I’m saying is start your dream with a concept and a spreadsheet. Then get realistic feedback from current business owners in your niche/industry.
Resources:
sba.gov - Actually has some good resources especially around Loans
score.org – Can hook you up with a local mentor and has extensive online courses on the basics
Jaxworks.com – A set of free basic excel files
inc.com – Has many good articles and tools. I’m also a fan of there one page worksheet to get the concept grounded.
ShipIt – Seth Godin’s great workbook on helping you to be inspired and ship often.
A New Year and less of…
Welcome to 2011. I hope you enjoyed and had a prosperous 2010. I certainly did. Many folks seem to rant about all the things they plan to add to the list in 2011. I’m going to focus on what I’m going to do less of.
1. Less travel. 2010 found me traveling almost every week and many times 5 solid days on the road. I plan to get reacquainted with the phone and Skype video conferences.
2. Cut the time wasters. I wasted prodigious amounts of time in 2010 on poorly run meetings, vague agendas, and pleasant accommodations of pointless meetings. There will be less of that in 2011.
3. Getting run by my inbox. Google Priority Inbox has been a huge help in 2010 but I need to get even better in 2011. At 250+ emails a day getting waylaid by the latest Lifehacker or SAI email can be a huge time suck. I’ve tried all kinds of systems but the one I’m using the most now is unsubscribing.
4. Over scheduling. It is easier to say Yes. Sure I’ll do that. I can help. When the better answer is sorry I’m booked. I over booked 2010 and spread myself thin. Focus brings results and I looking forward to a more focused and less over booked 2011.
This list could continue on but then that would be more when we are focused on less. I truly wish you and yours all the best in 2011. You won’t find me in your local airport lounge in 2011 so lets both pick up the phone and catch up the old fashion way.
Cheers…
Thanksgiving 2010
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday so much so that I do it twice. Once with family and then again for Turkey2 with friends. On the drive home from Hanover, NH I had a chance to reflect on all the things I’m thankful for:
- My family and friends whose love and support make it all worth while
- The opportunity I have to build, make connections, lend a hand, and create things worth fighting for
- My health – I’ve taken it for granted until a little ER visit this year
- Vermont – There is nothing better than seeing the Green Mountains unfold into Lake Champlain and the village lights twinkle as I wing my way back from some far off city
- Music – It never fails to lift me up on bleak days or send me driving to Montreal to dance the night away
- Travel – It makes me a better person. To see a different patch of the world and then return home to appreciate what you have at home.
So, raise a glass with me as we sit around the table and toast all that we have to be thankful for. It is humbling. Cheers…
Patagonia Love
I was in the NYC Patagonia west village store a few weeks ago to replace my EMS soft shell jacket. While I was there perusing all the goodies I commented to one of the reps that my Patagonia rain shell was breaking down. He told me to bring it in and they would replace it. I was skeptical. On Friday with out a blink they proved me wrong and I’m now a Patagonia brand loyalist. I’ve flirted with outerwear from Mt. Hardware, EMS, and Arcteryx over the years but Patagonia made it easy to convert me. I got fair use out of my prior jacket with trips to Asia, hikes in Scotland, and many a day of spring skiing. “No worries”, the store manager said just take better care of this one by cleaning it more regularly and I learned that light heat in the dryer was good for it. Cool. In fact the ROI of giving me a new Torentshell jacket has already paid off. I bought some Patagonia shoes that were on sale at Zappos. Score one for brand marketing done right. It is all about the product and I’ll happily pay the Patagonia premium for that level of service.
Thomas turns 30
I fell in love with Sonos
Sonos S5
It is rare that I’ll plug a product here on my blog but the Sonos system is worthy. I’ve used a zillion ways to listen to MP3′s over the years; iTunes, an early Roku box, Ipod’s, a Dell MP3 box that connected to my stereo. They all pale in comparison to Sonos. I’ve looked but never bought Sonos’ prior products as they all needed to be connected to a stereo. I gave up on full stereo systems years ago as I liked the small format of an iPod docked into a powered speaker. Then I saw the Sonos S5 in black on Amazon and I read the reviews. What Kool-aid were these people drinking! Sixty-Two 5 star reviews out of 75, unseen before on amazon. I did not believe them so I read cnet , NYT, and the WSJ. They all agreed so I bought it for my office. Set it up and bought my second one for my living room a day later.
The Pros:
1. It sounds great. I’ve run a sound board on many an evening and have a decent ear. The 5 speakers powered by 5 dedicated digital amps do a great job for such a small 50w format.
2. It is easy to set up. I’m buying my folks one for the holidays as providing tech support for iTunes is getting old.
3. The iPad application to control the Sonos is very…very nice when lying in bed.
4. The mesh wireless technology really works. I was a sceptic but I’m eating crow.
5. I now listen to LastFM all the time and it is so much easier than building play lists from iTunes of my own library.
The Cons:
1. I need to pay to listen to the Sirius radio I already have in my truck (I’m thinking about it).
2. I Don’t love the UI of the Mac desktop software compared to the Ipad which is much more usable.
3. It seriously cut into the music that I buy on iTunes and Amazon to the point I’m thinking about going all digital with Napster. Disturbing but true with 11 million tracks for $8 a month I would save a ton vs buying.
If you are pro music go buy one. Or two. Or maybe Three. As Sonos is life altering in how you will listen to and consume music.
