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I don't understand the kerfuffle over the iBooks Author EULA.

Apple is not claiming rights to your text or illustrations.

They're simply claiming that if you use their authoring tool to put together an interactive book, you must either give it away free or sell it via the iBookstore.

If you want to use another authoring tool to sell your book on Amazon, the Kindle, ePub, whatever.

Pretending that the EULA states anything other than that - like that Apple owns the "content" or the actual words or requires you to sell those words only via their store - is stupid, preposterous, and dishonest.

Of course, there are saner perspectives as well.

I'll keep this as short as I can.

I've posted before on running form. During Couch to 5K training I actually tried to run almost exclusively on my forefoot, which resulted in straining my calves enough that I shut it down for 10 days and repeated the fifth week when I returned.

In retrospect I think I was overdoing it. I was running so far on the forefoot that my heel almost never came down. That put tremendous strain on my calf muscles to keep the heel off the ground with 2-3x the force of body weight pushing down. Ouch. No wonder my calves got sore.

After coming back and completing C25K, I told myself not to worry about form. That I'd work on it piecemeal.

When I recorded myself on high-speed video after a recent one-mile run around the neighborhood, suffice to say I saw the need to begin integrating some form training right away:

Blech.

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The 1BandID I ordered after learning my blood type and first talked about on December 26 has arrived.

It's just about exactly as I imagined, and it fits comfortably on my watch band, so I'm likely never to run without it - even indoors at the Y where my ID is likely to be in a locker right downstairs. I've noticed no differences in terms of comfort or fit, and the color is bright enough to attract attention should someone plow into me with their car and render me unconscious or a babbling idiot or something.

You can save $2 on a 1BandID if you use the coupon code "erik93761" at checkout. With free shipping that comes to $17.99. Not bad for the peace of mind it offers. I get nothing out of it, but I used someone else's coupon code and I'm passing on the savings. With that $2, you can buy, uhhh, a bottle of water for after your run.

I'm opposed to SOPA/PIPA because the bill will do next to nothing to infringe piracy but has the potential to have way, way too much negative consequences. Little upside, big downside.

Congress does not understand the Internet.

I don't know how but I stumbled upon this post which talks about how a woman's accidental slip ended a period of time during which she'd run at least one mile for 21,212 (hey, nice palindrome number!) consecutively.

That article also mentioned that if you make it to a year running a mile a day minimum (I'm calling it #dailymileminimum), you can join one of only about 400 runners. Only 400!

While troubleshooting an issue for a customer, I launched Console and noticed a message being repeated every two seconds:

1/15/12 8:17:54.000 am kernel: USBF: 768663.812 AppleUSBEHCI[0x137c6000]::Found a transaction past the completion deadline on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 4, EP: 1)
1/15/12 8:17:56.000 am kernel: USBF: 768665.811 AppleUSBEHCI[0x137c6000]::Found a transaction past the completion deadline on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 4, EP: 1)
1/15/12 8:17:58.000 am kernel: USBF: 768667.811 AppleUSBEHCI[0x137c6000]::Found a transaction past the completion deadline on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 4, EP: 1)
1/15/12 8:18:00.000 am kernel: USBF: 768669.812 AppleUSBEHCI[0x137c6000]::Found a transaction past the completion deadline on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 4, EP: 1)
1/15/12 8:18:02.000 am kernel: USBF: 768671.812 AppleUSBEHCI[0x137c6000]::Found a transaction past the completion deadline on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 4, EP: 1)
1/15/12 8:18:04.000 am kernel: USBF: 768673.812 AppleUSBEHCI[0x137c6000]::Found a transaction past the completion deadline on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 4, EP: 1)

Some quick research with System Profiler led me to discover that it was the Garmin USB ANT+ Stick: System Profiler 1 (Bus 0xfd), System Profiler 2 (Address 4 is ANT+ Stick)

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Predictably, Meb Keflezighi won in 2:09:08, with Ryan Hall at 2:09:30 and Abdi Abdirahman at 2:09:47. Their ages are 36, 29, and 33.

The runners from Team USA Minnesota finished as follows:

Andrew Carlson took 6th at 2:11:24.
Jason Lehmkule in 18th at 2:14:35.
Matt Gabrielson and Josh Moen either quit or didn't start.

Just to put into perspective how fast these guys are running, and rounding up to 2h10m pace, that's one mile every 4.96 minutes, or nearly 12.1 MPH. Running. For 26 miles 385 yards. I'm not sure I could run that fast for 30 seconds.

I agree with John - the mute switch is fine the way it is. Only alarms can trigger audible cues (as they should), and everything else is silenced. If you want a silent phone, turn it off.

So says LifeHacker. That's my typical usage pattern, and based on Apple's advice, I've been running batteries in my MacBook Air and iPhone to 0% once a month before recharging.

But, I did pick up one of the Belkin Conserve outlets, because I always plug my phone in at night when I sleep, so I'll just cut off the charge after half an hour or something now. I randomly plug the phone in to my computer during some days as well.

Stephen Fry from WikiQuote:

Swearing is a really important part of one's life. It would be impossible to imagine going through life without swearing and without enjoying swearing… There used to be mad, silly, prissy people who used to say swearing was a sign of a poor vocabulary - such utter nonsense. The people I know who swear the most tend to have the widest vocabularies and the kind of person who says swearing is a sign of a poor vocabulary usually have a pretty poor vocabulary themselves… The sort of twee person who thinks swearing is in any way a sign of a lack of education or a lack of verbal interest or - is just a fucking lunatic… I haven't met anybody who's truly shocked at swearing, really, they're only shocked on behalf of other people. Well, you know, that's preposterous… or they say 'it's not necessary'. As if that should stop one doing it! It's not necessary to have coloured socks, it's not necessary for this cushion to be here, but is anyone going to write in and say 'I was shocked to see that cushion there, it really wasn't necessary'? No, things not being necessary is what makes life interesting - the little extras in life.

I can go with that.

Quite funny. As is this from Mark Remy at RW Daily.

Oh, and check out this entry on Merrell's first running shoe in the "Barefoot" line.

I've ordered my 1BandID now that I know my blood type: O+.

In the United States, 0+ is the most prevalent blood type, with 37.4% of the population, narrowly edging out A+ at 35.7%.

I wonder if the blood bank is going to pester me to donate frequently.

I'll snap some pictures and post again when I get it. Total cost was $17.99 due to the use of one of the many coupon codes available online, which saved me two bucks.

O+. I feel good about that, oddly, even though it's just genetic luck.

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I find the mental masturbation over commenting lately boring.

Comments are on here because I often ask questions and people answer. Sometimes people make corrections or suggestions. Sometimes they tell me a funny story, or contribute to the topic, or an old friend will get in touch after I haven't talked to them in awhile.

Spam isn't a big concern and moderation takes almost no time at all.

In short, there are almost no "cons" and lots of "pros." So, as always, comments are on here at NSLog();. Though I get far, far fewer than I used to when I was writing more specifically about Apple/Mac topics, the ones I do get are just as good.

I don't think it's about humility at all. Commenting is easier for a lot of people. I'll comment on people's blogs when I want to ask a question that doesn't warrant a response. Or when they ask a question. Or when I simply want to say "Nice job" or "Great photo!"

When I recently complained on the Interwebs that running on a treadmill was just soooooo boring I never wanted to do it again, someone suggested that instead of listening to music I listen to a podcast or audio book because, unlike the music which fades into background noise, the talking will force me to stay engaged mentally, thus taking my mind off of left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot (etc.).

I decided that this was a fine idea, and I listened to The Talk Show (episode 73) yesterday while doing my modified Week 7 Day 3 of Couch to 5K (now Run5K).

I've been wearing a Garmin watch for a little while. It's got a foot pod to track my cadence, and a strap that goes around my chest to track my heart rate. I had my iPod Nano clipped to the waist band of my shorts and the headphone cable fed up under my shirt to my ears. The watch was on my left wrist.

I've got my watch set to automatically split every half mile¹, and the watch will vibrate for a couple of seconds and show my split time. It's a handy way of knowing that you're another half mile along, and the buzz is fairly strong as I imagine it has to be for someone who is running to notice it.

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I donated blood today. When I called to see if they were busy, the girl answered by telling me that "we are pretty dead."

I first had to show my ID. I answered a questionnaire, which asked me if I'd had sex with anyone who was paid in "cash, drugs, or _____" (I forget the third thing - I know it wasn't food stamps ), among other things. My finger was pricked for iron testing. When that passed, the nurse gave me a sticker sheet with two bar codes. Next to one was "use my blood" and next to the other "don't use my blood." She said "choose one, put it in this box here on the form, and throw the sticker sheet out. Don't ask me why." I obliged, except for not asking her why. She didn't tell me.

Then, I was led back to the room. I was given a Coke "because it was my first time" and assumed I should try to drink it before she drew blood. So I did, and she was surprised that I was done already. Incidentally, it was one of those white cans of Coke that people mistook for Diet Coke. I admit I thought for a second it was Diet too, as I'd never seen one of these cans in person.

After making me turn away (she said people will faint, throw up, or scream and run away) I asked how long it would take. She said 5-15 minutes. When I was done in about three minutes, she said that was the fastest she'd ever seen. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I waited for ten minutes to make sure I wouldn't faint or something, ate some snacks and drank some juice, and walked out.

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