pistevo

More Updates

pistevo — Tue, 18 May 2010 01:23:31 +0000

To my 5 subscribers/followers. More regular updates are occurring over at my company blog… http://esses.us/blog.

Randomly unrelated things will still occur in this space if you’re not interested in the other link.

w00t.

A Sharks Haiku

pistevo — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:16:18 +0000

iceland volcano

ash cloud blocking all traffic

much like Avs' Andy

Posted via email from pistevo

Travis Pastrana + Big Wheel + Super Ramp

pistevo — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:54:08 +0000

Is it completely immature that I think this is flippin’ awesome (harhar)?

The Infographic Infographic

pistevo — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:23:24 +0000

Cheers, Phil Gyford.

John Gruber Gets It

pistevo — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 06:22:53 +0000

John Gruber Gets It

“I don’t think Apple even dreams of a Windows-like share of the mobile market. Microsoft’s mantra was (and remains) “Windows everywhere”. Apple doesn’t want everywhere, they just want everywhere good.”

Link to Daring Fireball

The Definitive iPad Review (Gruber-tastic)

pistevo — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:41:09 +0000

Grab some popcorn. It’s a long read.

“internally, the iPad looks more like a battery with a computer than a computer with a battery.”

“Apple has also added a new key to the iPad keyboard’s numeric/punctuation mode: Undo. It’s a good idea — I have the feeling most iPhone users don’t know about the system-wide shake-to-undo gesture, and even for users who do, the iPad is harder to shake (and, when docked, downright silly to shake).”

I give props to all of TWO Yankees fans in this world. Gruber is one of them. He may have poor taste in sports teams, but when it comes to Apple, the Daring Fireball knows what’s up.

via Daring Fireball.

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Blackbird Fly

pistevo — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:48:00 +0000

“On a typical training mission, we would take off near Sacramento, refuel over Nevada, accelerate into Montana, obtain high Mach over Colorado, turn right over New Mexico, speed across the Los Angeles Basin, run up the West Coast, turn right at Seattle, then return to Beale. Total flight time: two hours and 40 minutes.”

Have to get me one of these!

via Gizmodo

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Excessive Much?

pistevo — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:45:53 +0000

Clearly I am not making enough money, as I still take public transportation to work. Liberty Helicopters is beginning “shuttle” service from New Jersey to Wall Street landing pads for just $200 a day.

“Liberty Helicopters Inc. is offering to fly weary commuters from New Jersey to Manhattan for about $200 a day, saving them 14 hours in traffic a week and signaling that Wall Street may have seen the worst of the recession.

Liberty has already been approached by 150 potential clients after about a month of advertising, Patrick Day, a pilot and vice president of charter marketing…”

$70 MUNI Monthly Pass vs. $400 SF FiDi Parking + Fuel vs. ~$4000 Liberty Monthly Shuttle. I think I’ll pass on the helicopter rides, even when I make my millions.

Source: Bloomberg

Vibram FiveFingers Attack SF | Day 1 : Running (Errands)

pistevo — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:31:56 +0000

Day 1 : Running (Errands)

It could only be described as raw. My feet hit the sidewalk and the concrete provided shock after shock up my knees as if barefoot. Oh, wait…

I carefully adjusted my stride to compensate for my newly found foot freedom. Each step was taken as if I did not know how to use my body. I pressed the remote and heard two chirps. *CHIRP*CHIRP* I got in the car with a slight bit of fear. I inserted the key in to the ignition and moved my foot over the left pedal.

As a petrolhead, the connection between man and machine is at the core of my being. I live for the control and the feeling of being at one with my steed. I put my foot over the clutch and stepped in to it. It then became painfully clear that Subaru engineers did not design this car for barefoot driving or that I had terribly undeveloped feet. Probably both.

The next few minutes became the most fun I have ever had driving to the store. As my feet became more accustomed to the return pressure of the stiff clutch I began to focus on the fun pedals. Go and stop. I found I could wrap my feet around the brake pedal and the Vibram FiveFingers gave new meaning to heel-toe shifting. I could now use my real heel and my real toe. I have never felt such amazing feedback.

Arriving at good old Trader Joe's, I tried to move as swiftly as possible, so as not to be seen in my embarrassing toe shoes. There were points where I forgot I had them on, but then my self-conscious self would take over. All in all it was a normal trip to the store. Until…

Later that night I sat down to get some work done when I felt a slight soreness in my calves. I spent no more than 10 minutes grocery shopping and yet my legs were sore. It seems the VFFs are awakening leg muscles that have probably sat dormant for the better part of 27 years.

It seems a trip to the store is a perfect ease in and goes with all the advice I have read about barefooting. Ease in to it! Don't go out expecting to run a few miles your first day with the VFFs. You won't because you can't. Here's to newfound leg muscles.

-barefoot steven

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Vibram FiveFingers Attack San Francisco – Day 0

pistevo — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 06:52:38 +0000

I was first turned on to barefooting by Tim Ferriss last May. And while Tim is an excellent writer, marketer, speaker, and lifestyle designer, the FiveFingers just look CREEPY. Toe socks seriously creep me out. I wanted them, but couldn’t get past the heebies. But nothing sells a product as well as a stamp approval from a real live friend. If Besologic gave the nod I was definitely willing to give them a shot.

If you haven’t heard of barefooting, it’s exactly what it sounds like. You + Feet. People have been wearing shoes for centuries. It has destroyed our arches, our posture, and children in third world countries. God didn’t create us to have flat rubber soles or high heels, despite what Christian Louboutin may tell you. The perfect sole was designed when man was formed with barefreakingfeet.

Major problem. San Francisco is a city filled with broken glass, cigarette butts and urine, both canine and human. Major solution: Vibram FiveFingers KSO. KSO stands for Keep Stuff Out. My dad figured that age 25 was the age that he should stop buying me birthday and Christmas presents. One of the few benefits of smothering mothering is that my mom believes in no such rule. So armed with some birthday cash I set out to find some Vibram FiveFingers. If you’ve never seen or heard of them, they’re basically wetsuit gloves for your feet, with a rubber sole to keep your feet protected.

I was informed by Besologic that those of us looking for FiveFingers have Chris McDougall’s “Born To Run” to thank for the nationwide shortage of Vibrams. I believe it. I called one of Vibram’s official retailers, Redwood Trading Post, around 1pm today. It seems they were just sorting through a new shipment of FiveFinger KSOs. ”Great! Can you put a 42 in all black on hold for me until the end of the day?” They were reluctant do so, but did it anyway. ”Well, we just got 3 in, so I guess we could do that for you.”

After getting my mouth cut open (more on that later), I headed down to Redwood City to try on the FiveFingers. When I entered the store I mentioned I had a pair of FiveFingers on hold. ”Which one are you?” Apparently all 3 pairs of sz 42 black KSOs had been put on hold through the end of the day. Those very same pairs they had just received around lunch time were pretty much sold. In the time it took me to sit down and test fit the shoes, 3 more people had come in asking to try on some FiveFingers.

The Vibrams are sized in european sizing and I apparently am a tweener. The 41s are just a little too snug, and the 42s make me wonder if they’re too big. I somewhat solved that by doing something I vowed neverevereverneverever to do. I, dictator-for-life, bought a pair of toe socks. Horrible, heebie-inducing toe socks. GROSS.

Day 0 : Down The Street
So here’s a log of my barefooting escapades. Normally one buys a pair of shoes and immediately wants to try them out. I, being a normal guy, would have loved to do the same. However, I visited my dentist’s office for some oral surgery today after which they told me not to brush and floss for a week and not to engage in any strenuous activity. ”Be a bum, just for this week, and just enjoy the fact that I told you not to brush or floss.” Sweet. Kind of.

So instead of going on a run. I went on a walk to grab dinner. I have two key initial impressions. First, they feel like they are supposed to. I did my undergraduate at UC San Diego and, as such, know full well the joys of walking around barefoot. The FiveFinger KSOs do their job of keeping stuff out and feel surprisingly natural. Second, they’re still very creepy looking and quite embarrassing. Do expect to become somewhat of a spectacle. I intend for my FiveFingers to be used strictly for running duty, so I won’t need to worry too much about that.

Overall, the construction looks great and they seem to be great for barefoot walking. I look forward to my very first run in them.