Using Pebble Watch with Runkeeper

I use my Pebble watch mainly for running, as it allows me to keep track of my distance, time, and pace just by looking at my wrist without having to go through hassle of taking out and fiddling with my handphone. 

To do this, you need to have a Runkeeper account (basic membership is free), a bluetooth enabled smartphone (I use the Iphone), and of course the Pebble watch.

This is how the interface with Runkeeper looks like.

Pebble watch allows control of music from the watch as well. However, as I do not run with music, I do not have much use of this music function.

Here's what I have opened so far...

The Tomahawk Warrior, Roman Commander and Paintball Player engaged in a three way tussle, while the sad clown looks on worriedly...

Nobody moves! *tense*

Sad clown decides to act as mediator and Tomahawk Warrior relents and breaks away from the three way tussle!

Tomahawk: I give up on you guys!

Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #11 Sad Clown

This is another easy to find figure. The main clues to the Sad Clown are i) the ring shape ruffles and ii) the conical shaped hat.

There are 6 pieces in the bag:-

1) Base plate
2) Legs
3) Body (incl. hands)
4) Head
5) Hat

6) Ruffles

6 pieces in the blind bag for the Sad Clown

View from the back

View from the side

This a Youtube video I made for unboxing of the Sad Clown (a bit blurry this time round):-

Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #3 Roman Commander

This is a popular Minifigure in the Lego Series 10 collection. There are 8 pieces in the bag:-

1) Base plate
2) Legs
3) Body (incl. hands)
4) Head
5) Helmet 

6) Brush on the Helmet

7) Cloak

8) Sword

Eight pieces in the blind bag for the Roman Commander

To single him out, you will have to feel a small piece that fits on his helmet (the brush). It is kind of an small and flat arc-shape piece.

Front view of the Roman Commander

Side view of the Roman Commander

Back view of the Roman Commander

The Roman Commander as #3 in the Series 10 collection

This is a Youtube video I made for unboxing of the Roman Commander:-





If you are reading this, you may also be interested in:-

• Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #5 Tomahawk Warrior
• Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #9 Paintball Player

Lego Minifigures Series 10 - Finding Mr. Gold in Singapore

So excited! I ordered a box of Lego Minifigures Series 10 online on Saturday, and the order's been processed. They are delivering it tomorrow!

Can't wait! I hope I find a Mr. Gold :)

If you are reading this, you may be interested in

• My box of Lego Minifigures Series 10

For the Lego Fan - Sticker Album

I saw this in a bookshop recently and instantly fell in love with it.

It's a Lego Minifigure Sticker Collection Album!

Lego Minifigure Collection Album

How this works is: there are pages of stickers in the album, along with pages with sticker placers. You are supposed to match the stickers with placers i.e. to stick the stickers in the correct places.

People always says - Good things come in small packages. I think so too :) Lego's Minifigures are collected by both adults and children.

Here's some of the pages...

Star Wars Minifigures

Lego Adventurers

Harry Potter series

You can get the book from Amazon here Ultimate Sticker Collection: LEGO Minifigure (ULTIMATE STICKER COLLECTIONS)

I bought a Star Wars sticker album too! Isn't it cute?

Ultimate Sticker Collection: LEGO Star Wars: Minifigures (ULTIMATE STICKER COLLECTIONS)

Initial impressions with Tinke in Singapore - keeping my health and fitness in check

Tinke is a little gadget designed in Singapore by home grown start-up Zensorium that is designed to make it easy for each one of us to keep our health and fitness in check. Having first read about it on Wired, I signed up as a beta tester for Tinke when I chanced upon the opportunity to do so.

This is how the little guy looks like (all photos via link to Zensorium website):-

Vibrant colours to brighten my day (I have the blue and pink one)

Basically, all I had to do was to download and set up an app call Tinke on my IPhone, and then plugin the device, like this:-

Here is how Tinke looks like when it is powered by the phone

Tinke draws power from the IPhone therefore it is fuss free. Don't have to bother about chargers or wires. The device is so small I can keep it snugly in my pocket.

Basically, it measures the following four parameters and compiles them into a health indicator called the Vita Index, and a stress level indicator called the Zen Index.

i) Heart Rate - how fast your heart is pumping

ii) Blood Oxygen Level - the amount of oxygen in your blood

iii) Respiratory Rate - how many air exchanges or breathes you take in

iv) Heart Rate Variability - whether your heart rate is constant and beating in a regular pattern

My heart rate is typically in the 60s range.. i.e. my heart beats 60+ times a minute. According to established studies, the lower the heart rate, the better because that means your heart does not have to work so hard to keep you alive. People who exercise regularly tend to have lower heart rates, even in the 40s and 50s! When I caught a cold a few months back, my heart rate soared to the 90s as my body was working overtime to try and get rid of the nasty bugs.

As for blood oxygen level, the higher the value the better (maximum is 100). My blood oxygen level is typically from 95 to 99, which puts me in a normal range. I find that after each exercise session (I jog regularly), my blood oxygen level is at the high 90s around 99. So again, this indicator is a good check of the efficiency of my workout.

For respiratory rate, I think that this ties in with the heart rate and blood oxygen level. Mine is typically about 15-18. I have the impression that when my respiratory rate increases, my heart rate and blood oxygen level should increase, cos that should mean that my metabolism is higher due to additional oxygen intake, which in turn leads to higher blood oxygen level.

Finally, for heart rate variability, the idea is to conduct a few breathing exercises (the app showed me how) to try and make me breathe regularly. By me breathing regularly = heart rate should be pretty constant. So, if my heart rate variability is high, this means that my heart hence body is stressed cos it is beating erratically.

Finding it difficult to remember all of the above? Fret not. As mentioned, the device helps to keep track of my overall wellbeing by compiling each value into two indices - Vita Index and Zen Index. Like a lot of other fitness and health devices, Tinke allows data trending to let me know whether my health is improving over time. It also has cool socia media capability for me to share my health indicators with my friends. Maybe that will let others know whether I have a problem or am about to have a problem with my health before anything bad happens to me? 

In case you would like to know more about Tinke, this instructional video says it all...

Last but not least, if you would like to also keep your health in check, this nifty device is now for sale at  USD 119 here Introducing Tinké, the quick, revolutionary way to quantify your fitness, wellness and stress levels!

Will post more photographs when I have the chance to do so.

Other posts that may interest you:-

• Initial impressions with Pebble watch in Singapore
• Using my Kindle as a News reader

Further impressions with the Pebble Watch in Singapore

After a few weeks of using my Pebble watch, I'm loving it. My phone is usually kept in my bag or in the back pocket of my jeans, and in silent vibration mode. Therefore, I tend to miss my calls. However, the watch allows me to know when I have calls or smses cos it vibrates on my wrist! Plus, it's so cool. My friends were literally going gaga over the watch. 

Some updates to my previous post:

My initial problems of feeling numbness on my wrist have gone away. No problems whatsoever with wearing it for extended hours now.

The battery life has also improved to about 4-5 days with bluetooth on. I guess the battery just needs some wearing in. 

One thing to note - after the watch's been recharged having gone completely flat i.e. blank screen, the time gets reset to 00:00 hours. Need to sync to the phone eg. via bluetooth in order for the time and date settings to be restored. 

I got my sms alerts as well as my phone alerts working. I lost my email alerts though... 

The photo below shows the recent update I carried out for the watch... 

Hello!

This was the new watch face that came with it. Reminds me of a retro Casio watch face lol.

Retro Casio-ish watchface

I customized my Pebble with watchfaces downloaded from the  My Pebble Faces website. Here's one of them which I really liked!

The Micky Mouse watch face (animated)

Looking forward to more applications! 

Apparently, Pebble Corp is still busy fulfilling orders from their very successful Kickstarter campaign i.e. new orders may only be processed much much later. If you can't wait and must get it now, you can get the Kickstarter editions from Amazon

Pebble E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android


Other posts which may interest you:

• Pebble watch in Singapore - Initial Impressions
• Using my Kindle as a newsreader
• Initial impressions with Tinke
• For the Lego Fan

Pebble Watch in Singapore - Initial Impressions

After months of waiting, my Pebble watch is finally here!

This was my first Kickstarter project. I opted for the US$115 option, which comes with a Jet Black Pebble watch and US$15 shipping fee for delivery to Singapore.

Here's some photographs...

The environmentally-friendly packaging which the Pebble came in...

How the Pebble watch is packaged...

Kickstarter edition! Also indicates its waterproof capabilities of 5 atm.

Fits snugly on my wrist. Background shows the magnetic two point charger that is proprietary with Pebble, to allow for its waterproofing.

Updated 24 March 2013: Simple watchface showing the date and time

Updated 24 March 2013: This watchface is pretty cool. Can you figure out how to tell the time? ;)

Functions
As of now, the Pebble has only preliminary functions, such as watch, alarm, controlling of music from the watch, and phone notifications showing the number calling. For controlling of music, it allows skipping of tracks, starting and stopping of songs and does not allow volume control. As for phone notifications, it allows you to decide whether or not to pick up the call. You will have to use your phone or bluetooth headset, should you wish to talk to the caller. 

Needs upgrading to iOS6 for notifications
After upgrading my iOS on my iPhone 4 to iOS6, it allowed me to configure my notifications such that email notifications showed up also on my Pebble screen. From my limited tests carried out so far, I have not managed to get the other alerts such as calendar, sms, Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter etc. I am not sure if the Android version is better since it appears that some open source programs have already been written and are available for Android users.  

Concerns
My battery was flat within 2 days of wearing it after an initial charge of about 2 hours. After researching on the internet, it seems like some users are also facing issues with shorter battery life of 1-2 days (as opposed to 7+ days in the specs). I am monitoring this and will update again when I have had more time with the Pebble.

Also, I am not sure if it is my imagination, but I felt some tingling sensation/numbness on my left upper arm after just half an hour of wearing it and with the bluetooth on. Am I hypersensitive to bluetooth waves or what? In any case, I will have to test that again.

Initial impressions
Smart looking watch + cool factor with untapped potential.
Need to iron out the teething problems such as notifications, more applications such as Runkeeper, and longer battery life to make this worthwhile. 

Posts which you may be interested too

• My further impressions with the Pebble Watch... 
• Initial impressions with Tinke in Singapore - keeping my health and fitness in check
• For the Lego Fan

Kickstarter editions are available now from Amazon resellers

Pebble E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android

Updated 5 May 2013: Community developed pebble watchfaces on mypebblefaces.com !
Updated 8 May 2013: I can now use Runkeeper on my Pebble!

Running Windows 7 on Mac using Parallels 8 - It works!

I am a happy person today. I managed to set up my Macbook Pro to run Windows 7 via Parallels 8!

Here's the configuration:

1. Mackbook Pro (13 inch, mid 2010. 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB Memory. Lion OSX 10.7.5. About 70 GB free storage).

2. Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac
(you can get it from most computer shops that sells Mac stuff and from Amazon (link opens to Amazon website) Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac
3. Windows 7 Home SP-1 64 bit, OEM version
(you can get the retail version from some computer shops (slowly being phased out as Windows 8 is not available) Amazon (link opens to Amazon website) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Steps:

1. I first did a bootable backup of my hard disk using Carbon Copy Cloner (the old version 3.4.7 which was free. The new version now costs US$40 *gasp*) on my 1 TB Toshiba Canvio 3.0 Plus external hard disk (got it for S$105 at Sim Lim Square).

The backup is made just for peace of mind, in case anything goes wrong during installation. I partitioned 300 GB of the 1 TB hard disk using Disk Utility that comes with the Macbook Pro. For it to be bootable, remember to choose GUID partition type (if you have a Intel based Mac like mine). The other 700 GB is for storage. The cloning process took a few hours, for my 250 GB storage hard disk.

To check whether or not your newly cloned external hard disk is bootable, reboot your Mac while holding down the Option key. This allows you to choose the boot up disk (i.e. my newly cloned external hard disk in my case).

Boot up check - SUCCESS

2. Once the backup and boot up check is done, I checked my Mac storage to ensure that there is at least 20 GB of free storage for the installation. Of course, I would think the more freed-up resources you have, the more fuss free and speedy the installation.

3. I inserted the Parallels installation disc and installation was a breeze. Merely followed the instructions, and let the program run. It came to a screen which requested me to put in the Windows installation disc.

Parallels Installation - SUCCESS

4. At this point, I inserted the Windows 7 installation disc and Parallels took over the installation from there. I bought my Windows 7 Home OEM disc from Sim Lim Square for S$115. Having read on the internet that some people had problems using Windows 7 OEM discs to install Windows 7 on their Mac with Parallels, I was filled with trepidation. However, Windows 7 installed without a glitsch. YAY! The process of installing Parallels and Windows 7 took about 1 hour.

Windows 7 OEM Installation - SUCCESS

5. I was able to use Windows 7 without having to restart my Mac. However, just to be on the safe side, I restarted my Mac. No problems faced. Windows 7 is present as a desktop icon. To start using it, I just have to click on the icon and Parallels + Windows 7 starts.

6. The main purpose for my installing Windows is to allow me to use MS Office. I have a Office XP installation disc from my old scrapped PC, which I now use to install in Windows 7 (on my Mac!). Running Windows 7, I inserted my Office XP installation disc and the system took over from there. An installation window popped up, just like how it would be like in a normal PC, and Office XP installation proceeded as usual.

MS Office Installation - SUCCESS

I am now able to use MS Word on my Mac while enjoying the OS X interface at the same time. Mac gestures work in MS Word as well :) Only thing that I have to get used to is the different keyboard shortcuts.. eg, for super scrip (crtl shift =) and sub script (ctrl =) and paste special (option e s).

COOL!

Other posts which you may be interested in:

• Using my Kindle as a news reader

Using my Kindle as a News reader

I have a Kindle 4 (US $79 version), which I received as a Christmas present last year. It's selling now at US$69 from Amazon (Kindle, 6" E Ink Display, Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers (Black) ) Besides reading books and web-articles, I have set it up such that I can read news articles on it too. Best of all, the news articles are delivered to me every morning, much like a newspaper delivery.

Here's what you need:

• A Google Reader account (it comes free with your gmail account)


• Setting up Klip.me (http://www.klip.me/googlereader/)

Instructions as follow:

1. Setting up Google Reader - subscribe to rss feeds from news providers.

a) Singapore context - some examples:

• Straits Times Latest News: http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIFILES/rss/latest.xml


• Straits Times Singapore: http://straitstimes.com.feedsportal.com/c/32792/f/524617/index.rss

(More here: http://www.straitstimes.com/STI+On+The+Go/RSS+News+Feed/RSS+News+Feed.html

Note that the rss feeds for print edition require a subscription. Those for the Breaking News are free.)

• Today online: http://www.todayonline.com/RSS/Todayonline


• Today hot news: http://www.todayonline.com/RSS/Hotnews

(More here: http://www.todayonline.com/RSS)

• Channel NewsAsia Latest: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/rss/latest_cna_frontpage_rss.xml


• Channel NewsAsia Business: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/rss/latest_cna_biz_rss.xml

(More here: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/rss/)

b) International context - some examples

• CNN top stories: http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition.rss


• CNN world: http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition_world.rss

(More here: http://edition.cnn.com/services/rss/)

• New York Times Global: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/GlobalHome.xml

(More here: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/index.html)



2. Setting up Klip.me (http://www.klip.me/googlereader/)

a) Open the settings page http://www.klip.me/googlereader/

b) Input your kindle email address: username@free.kindle.com.

Unsure of your email address? You can check it using your Kindle. It's under Settings>Send-to-Kindle Email. It shows the email address as username@kindle.com, but I use the username@free.kindle.com address just to make sure that there are no charges.

c) Add "kindle@klip.me" to your Kindle approved email list.

• Login to your Amazon account (www.amazon.com)


• Go to Your Account>Manage your Kindle


• Click on "Personal Documents Setting" (left hand side menu bar)


• Click on "Add a new approved e-mail address" (bottom of page)

d) Click on the "Authorize" button to link up klip.me with your Google Reader account.

e) Set a schedule at which you would like your "newspaper" to be delivered. I set mine at 8 am every morning.

f) Click on "Update Settings" and the Klip.me settings will be saved.

Congratulations, you are done!

Here's what my Kindle "newspaper" looks like:

Have Fun!

Other posts you may be interested in:

• Running Windows 7 on Mac using Parallels