Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Those Lazy Saturdays; Products you can Use

Lazy only in the sense that Saturday afternoon is a short chunk of downtime in a week that is full of a variety of activities. I put this last lazy Saturday to an interesting use. Via our Roku, I partook of two channels, Finagle and Crowded Now, and discovered a slew of interesting and useful products.

DSCN4619Looking for an electric bike? All you need is a smart phone and to replace the rear wheel of your existing bike with ‘The Copenhagen Wheel’. You can even find it on Facebook. Looks like it is only available in single speed. It collects not only information on your use but on the environment as you ride. The Fitbit Flex also can monitor and track your activity and even monitor your sleep. It is also available at local retail outlets. We saw them at that gadget store in Mayfair Mall.

Then we found a video on the FlyPedals. An adapter to convert your clipless pedals ( pedals that you need riding shoes for that you clip into the pedals. ? ) into a flat pedal so you can ride with any common shoe. Important in this economy. I mean, how many bikes can one afford to ride? Take your competitive mountain bike, put on the Copenhagen wheel and your FlyPedals and you can get to work without having to change your shoes or stink up the office by coming to work all sweaty.

DSCN4721With the threatening skies of the last week I have been using the trainer to keep the blood flowing, especially on Saturdays which is the most sedentary time of the week for me as I spend many hours driving on the weekend. My weight is inching down, and if you are one to join meal programs and/or incessantly count calories to control your weight, we also found a company on Finagle called ‘Plated’ that sends you complete chef designed meals cooked by yourself in 30 minutes or less. Just pick the meal and the number of guests. I find it much easier to sit back and peruse these products and videos on my television with a simple remote than to sit isolated at a desk, playing with a keyboard and mouse on the computer.

DSCN4675I start July with great hopes, not hopes for many s’mores in this season of barbecues and celebrations, but in continuing to advance my writing goals. My goals had been far too aggressive in the past, but I finally dropped them to a workable level. Not only writing over 12,000 new words last month (my goal) , but also spending many a long hour in editing what has already been written. I also worked in some rides and other activities. Based on this success I can work in more exercise and advance my weight loss at the same time. Yes I include my blog posts in that number, and I have many blogs, but if you think that goal is easy try it yourself.

For you dog owners planning vacations there is one other company that I discovered on Finagle that I should mention: DogVacay. The company facilitates finding other pet owners to care for your pet in their homes while you’re away. And the caretakers are insured.

We need a new flag for this Fourth of July but the finances are tight. One of the reasons we wont go to Summerfest. Not my favorite festival, but when you can see a band you enjoy, especially those from ones youth and can enjoy good food and the lakefront it is a treat. Then again, looking at these old bands, sometimes I think people shouldn’t be allowed to perform Rock n’ Roll after the age of fifty.

The $62 Question: The same as the last post. See Charity Jackpot Page for further details.

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