Hacked Iphone & Beeline rockin' the USSR ...err Russia.

Heather and I recently took a trip to Russia in the early spring. I wanted to be able to have working GPS and internet while we were there. AT&T offered no roaming plan and it looked like rates were going to be around 5$USD per minute and unknown rate for data usage. So what did I do? I hacked my iphone and

installed yellow snow.

For about 20USD$ Heather, using her Russian skills, bought this Beeline sim card at a telecom shop. It was a prepaid card that allowed me to make 1 quick phone call and all the internet I could use on our 10 day trip. I didn't track KB usage, but I liberally used maps and checked e-mail. We even posted a few photos to facebook while we were walking around. We ran out of our prepaid allotment at the airport on the flight home, but refill stations were everywhere if you need more of an internet fix.

The documentation was unclear as to whether this would work, but this nice little hack saved us a couple hundred dollars of cell phone bills.

Moscow had great edge coverage. The sales reps in Moscow said there was no 3g coverage anywhere in the country but we found St. Petersburg had great 3g coverage. We even made a few voip calls over the 3g with siphone.

Laser Bike Lane

It looks like you can't buy one yet, but what a great idea:http://www.lightlanebike.com/

Bye Bye Hot Tub. I know being listed on Ebay was a draining end to a long life.

Bye Bye Hot Tub. I know being listed on Ebay was a draining end to a long life. Buy on Ebay, Download a PDF containiing orginal purchase documentation, Download a 110 MB 2 minute Demo Movie

R.

Dishonest business practices - Automatic Hertz Fuel Surcharges - Renter beware

I rented a Hertz rental car in Detroit through hotwire. I returned the car full of gas, but there was no attendant there to process the return.

A random hertz bill showed up today. According to their agents, Hertz's computer system automatically charges customers for missing fuel if there is no agent there to process the car ($31.13 in my case). What a sham! Good thing I had a receipt from the gas station around the corner and a photo of the dash console when I dropped off the car. That is the last time I rent from Hertz. Hertz insisted on billing me $2.31 in tax which was supposed to be credited as part of the hotwire rental.

Garmin Connect Software Demo - Cycling through baltimore

The weather was so nice I couldn’t bring myself to sit on the treadmill for 2 hours so I got on my bike again trying to cram in 20 miles between 7 and 8:30 when it gets dark here. I also wanted to see if Gwynns Falls Trail still seemed safe as the twilight hours approached.

Gwynns Falls Trail seemed very safe. There were lots of police and a few other people using the trail.

The most dangerous part of the ride are the careless & crazy pedestrians between hard rock and the science center.

Historically I have been using the Gamin training center to track my rides. The graphics leave a lot to be desired. So today I downloaded Garmin Connect. Wow! This has really come a long way. Check out the movie of my ride last night.

Single Payer Healthcare

I am sitting on the pier reading about health care reform and "single payer" solutions. Currently ~70 cents on the dollar goes to actual care. If ~73% of our health dollars are consumed by ~10% of the people, how do you get a majority to care about change? I care because I see the bills, but most people don't.

Churchberry Court

Well, If all goes well, it looks like my old house at 3 Churchberry court has been sold. This is the former home of Mp3car and Innovatovative Technology. The oak trees, and chirping birds will be missed. Yard upkeep, homeowner duties and suburban boredom will not be missed.

60 mile ride from papermill road

4 hours 30 minutes, 60 miles. Not bad. Here are some screen shots from the Garmin training center software I use.