Shoe surgery and my first run with Nike+Ipod
After getting back from a meeting today, I had some time to get back to my Nike Running schedule and so I performed some minor surgery to a shoe to get the Nike+ sensor into underneath the sole. (Ya, attaching it outside is also ok but I preferred to have it in). Had to do some hacking get it fitted nicely and here’s how it looks.
I then attached the receiver to the Nano and it instantly was ready to receive data from the sensor. Did a quick walk down the steps to get a feel of the audio feedback (which was surprisingly nice sounding, I chose female voice). And so I started my actual lap to walk 15 min. Did a slightly longer one in the end since listening to music got me distracted enough from usual panting away.
After getting back, syncing the Nano with ITunes required me to enter my Nike id and it quickly synced the data with Nike+ site which has a nice graph of the distance that was done.
Also, since I had a training schedule at Nike Running, it also synced the information to the schedule (although it would have been nicer to match it to my goal for the day).
Of course, since MichaelYuhui.com runs WordPress, I had to look around for a plugin that could pull all this data onto our own site. Managed to find one from ear-fung.us but alas, I seem to have hit a wall as it keeps saying “Error: session authentication failed”. Am not really in the mood to debug code so shall leave it for another day.
All in all, I’m quite happy with my purchase and would encourage those who don’t mind using technology to help improve their fitness to try out Nike+. Of course, the geek in me had to find out where all the data is stored and how to do more with them 
Some links if you are also interested in doing more with Nike+
http://blog.mattmecham.com/2006/09/05/ipod-training-data-under-the-hood/
I would also definitely like to find a way to have a paced audio feedback from the nano like that mentioned in this thread. *grin* too bad VS 2005 doesn’t have way to write code for the nano.
Do you have a PopFly Invite?
Would be great if anyone who has a PopFly invite could send one my way. Learnt of it last week and saw some of the videos and would really like to give it a try. Thanks!
Any idea when Apple is going harvesting?
Huh?! I connected iTunes and logged in with my Apple Id and up comes this great error message “This person record requires harvesting”. Searching in Google brings up limited results and only similar problems without solutions. Is this a consipracy to harvest us for power (reminds me of The Matrix)?
*Update*
Figured out that my profile wasn’t complete (no idea why) and was redirected to a login page to update my birthdate and question/answer pair.
And so I merrily logged in and was asked to review payment info for iTunes store and then.. I can’t find Singapore listed. Sigh.. this is becoming a pain to go through at 30 minutes to midnight. My first Apple product isn’t going exactly very well atm I guess I should be cheered by the fact that I won’t be getting harvested anytime soon.
Tuning my run with Nike + iPod
In a curious twist after months of searching for a Nike+Ipod device, I finally managed to catch sight of it at Nike by B.I.R.D store (Novena’s Velocity) just before my evening meeting there. The technology behind the device isn’t too complicated and has already created security and privacy concerns as well as hacks to get around requiring a Nike+ shoe. However, I think the concept behind it is still great and shall attempt to get fit for my upcoming IPPT (its looming in the horizon!) with some fun and music :)
Nike + iPOD kit = $54.00 (inc/GST)
Nike Sport Armband for iPOD Nano = $54.00 (inc/GST)
A short stay at Beaufort Hotel
We’ll be heading out soon to Beaufort Hotel, Sentosa for good buddy Zh and Jo’s ROM ceremony. Have been asked to help take photos and video to remember the event by. *grin* Kinda nervous since have only taken photos for fun.
