Random thoughts and observations from a guy with a lot on his mind…
What’s Going On:
I’ve been back from Europe for a while and have been playing catch-up for the last few weeks. I also took another trip. This time Texas was the destination!
Special shout out to Side Door Bagels for the fantastic breakfast bagel I picked up last week!
More to come soon…
It’s really kind of hard to believe my last blog post was in June! I guess now that the weather is getting colder I’m finding time for my “indoor” hobbies such as reading and writing.
In the span of an hour I read that a new (major) version of WordPress was available and received a notice form my hosting provider that my contract was up for renewal. This is as good a time as any to update the site and add some more content!
The new WordPress editor is really interesting. It’s based on your contend being a series of blocks. These blocks can be scaled, moved, and colored individually. This gives a tremendous amount of creative freedom to play around with layouts. This is something that was all but impossible just a year ago on this platform (without some heavy CSS editing).
I’m learning the design has a lot to do with your theme. The current theme I’m using for the site is called “Twenty Sixteen” and it’s missing a lot of features that will allow me to take advantage of the new editing functions. So that means it’s time to start looking for a new theme and a new site design!
It feels good be back on the Blog. Time to start researching some options to make the site even better in 2019!
I decided to activate Google Analytics on the blog and see what kind of data it can collect on the site traffic. When IndyScan.com was a scanner resource page I used to pour over the logs to see where people were visiting from and what they were looking at on the site. It was a tedious task that’s now simplified and automated using 3rd party tools like Google Analytics.
I’m already seeing that the majority of the visitors to IndyScan are using mobile devices, I guess this shouldn’t come as a surprise these days but I rarely access the site via my phone. I’m going to spend a little more time making sure the site is as mobile friendly as it can be.
I really want to figure out once and for all why the Marsala Sauce post is so popular! It continues to be the top viewed page week over week. I’ve really appreciated the ease of setup and the way Google Analytics presents the data. This is WAY better than how things worked 15+ years ago.
I’ve added some of the stats for those of you that might be interested.
I was cleaning up the Blog today & realized this version of IndyScan.com came online just over 10-years ago.
A LOT of things have changed since then, especially when I look at the technology posts. Back then I was using the Palm Treo and transitioning to the Blackberry. When the iPhone was first adopted at my company I was one of the last holdouts to turn their Blackberry in. I still miss that keyboard sometimes…
10-years ago the world was a different place. We were still pretty sore from the 9/11 attacks and a 512 GB SSD drive was about to be released to the general public. Tech has changed SO MUCH that it’s really hard to believe where we are now (self driving cars!?!).
I have a few draft posts I’m working on including an update on the cord cutting project. I added some new things to round out the setup and make it even better.
More to come soon!
Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s been 4-months since I last published a post on IndyScan.com. A lot’s been happening and I’ve obviously not been documenting it here!
My activity on Facebook has increased and I’m giving Instagram another try so the details are out there for those of you who know where to look! I’m currently testing a plugin that will increase the activity on the blog by posting my favorite Instagram pictures here (just tested it right before this post!). One of these days I’ll have things streamlined where I can share things with everyone everywhere with a single submission (getting really close to that now).
One of the new activities I’m taking part of this year is kayaking. I grew up canoeing and have always loved the water. This year was the year to get back out there. In May I took advantage of the Rusted Moon Outfitters annual sale (20% off!) and picked up a new Dagger Axis 12-foot kayak. I used the savings to offset the cost of a really nice carbon/fiberglass paddle and kayak specific life vest.
Having gone on several lake and river paddles I can honestly say this is one hell of a boat. Very comfortable positioning and ride as well as highly maneuverable. The retractable Skeg (basically a fixed rudder) makes tracking on open water dead straight and when retracted the boat turns on a dime.
I went on a 2-day overnight (camping) trip with some of the guys from work and I had plenty of room for all my equipment, even though I totally over packed!
Since kayaking has become my preferred form of exercise I decided to add one more piece of gear to the mix. The Garmin Fenix 3 HR GPS/Smartwatch. Previously I tried out an Apple Watch and was less than impressed. After reading the reviews I really wanted to give the Garmin a try.
Well this thing is a completely different animal. It’s rugged as all get out and does many things very well. You get all the notifications of a Smartwatch but you also get a ton of tracking info for outdoor activities and it’s completely configurable to match your needs. From running to hiking to water sports and cycling. This watch does it all and I could not be happier with the purchase. It’s great to have an electronic dashboard on your wrist with all of your exercise stats as well as full navigation of where you’ve been and how to get back. It even has weather alerts (web and barometer based) so you don’t get caught off guard when mother nature decides to storm on your outing.
The image above shows a solo kayak run from Lafayette Trace (near Bongies in Perkinsville) to White River Canoe Company just south of Noblesville. 15+ miles in just under 5 hours. It was the first time I got to put the Garmin to use and it performed flawlessly. All of my distance, speed, and heart rate stats were compiled throughout the trip. I can use the info to gauge my fitness level as well as track improvements or areas that need worked on.
So it’s obvious my new extra curricular activities have shifted focus away from blogging but at least I’m getting exercise! Look for more posts in the future along with a few trip reports from upcoming kayaking adventures I plan to have before the snow starts flying.
Until next time…
It’s been a while since I published anything of substance on the blog so I thought it would be a good time to post a brief update.
I started journaling using DayOne a few years ago but didn’t do it consistently. I came up with a new system over the winter holidays that allows me to use If Then Then That to capture my activities and automatically add them to a DayOne entry. This allows me to capture Foursquare checkins, Facebook Posts, Twitter posts, etc and expand on them in the journal. I’m happy to say I haven’t missed a day yet in 2015 & it’s now part of my daily routine. Its fun to look back on past events and see how things have changed (or haven’t).
Now the trick is to try to make updating the blog a habit (through the use of automation and a little technology of course). The mobile blogging tools have gotten better and easier to use so there’s really no excuse not to be posting more things. So its time to see if I can get this site active again.
That’s just about covers it for now. Look for more updates in the near future and some changes around the site to spruce it up a bit. I’ve got some work to do!
It’s been far too long since my last blog post so I thought I’d do a summary post detailing what’s been going on with my life…
Decided to try the iPad out again. Picked up a 32GB Wi-Fi unit and I’ll have to admit it’s far superior to the Gen 1 device I had years ago. Better screen, faster performance, and great battery life. I also purchased a Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover and the combination is great! I find myself using the pair in meetings and when I’m out and about wanting to get online.
To go along with the iPad I added a Verizon “Jetpack” 4g Mi-Fi device to the tool kit. After finding out my internal aircard in the trusty Lenovo X200 was not capable of being upgraded to a 4g data unit I took the plunge. This is the device to have for mobile data. Initially the battery life was pretty sub-par but the addition of the extended battery gives me all the time I need and the speeds are nothing short of amazing.
My son & I attended Dig IN A Taste of Indiana and I was VERY impressed with the event. GREAT food and a lot of variety. We’re going to make this an annual event and I encourage you to check it out next year (August 25, 2013).
International Geocaching Day was on August 18 and we made sure to log a cache that day to get a special badge on our online account. The 2 caches we manage also got a lot of activity that day from the event.
Devour Downtown has come and gone. I was only able to make it to one place this year but Smokehouse on Shelby was a real treat.
If you’re looking for a location based app for your reminders the Checkmark app for the iPhone is one to check out (no pun intended). It reminds you of things when you are at a specific location vs date and time. Very handy when you want to be reminded to do something when you get home or arrive at the office.
I’m working downtown with a new client and spending a few days during the week down ther . It’s been a while sine I’ve spent this much downtown and I’m really happy to be doing it again. Speaking of Downtown I’ve been going to King David Hot Dogs on a semi-regular basis. Not only is it a quick eat it’s delicious! This is not your ordinary wiener. This thing is a 1/4 pound beef dog that will fill you up.
I’m sure I’m missing a few things but as you can see the summer has been a busy one. I was talking to Eddie V the other day & we want to start the Man fights Back Podcast up again. Been far too long since we recorded an episode and I’m sure we have plenty of content to fill a few shows. I’ve also thought about doing a weekly Podcast that summarizes the events on IndyScan.com. It’s still in the developmental phases but you might see it soon on the Blog.
Hope everyone is having a great summer!
-Andrew-
I’ve had several people contact me asking what’s going on with the blog. It’s still here but I’ve just had a case of “life getting in the way”. I have too many draft posts to admit & a lot of them just need some editing and pictures.
By the time my day slows down I’m just not in the mood to “blog”. So much for the 1-post-a-day challenge I was trying to complete. It’s harder than you might think!
I’ve played with some mobile solutions and I’m thinking about starting to post shorter items in an attempt to increase site activity. I see a lot of things throughout my day & I can share most of them online.
Stay tuned, I hope to have some neat things on here soon…
I’ve been posting a lot of reviews on IndyScan.com and I realized I had never taken the time to explain why I’m doing it. First of all, I only review things I like. I don’t waste my time complaining about things I don’t like (there are lots those too)
If you see a review on IndyScan.com it’s going to be about something I like and I want to share it with others. It might be a product, restaurant, video, etc. It’s on this site because I want you to know about it.
Now I do have a Rant category and I use it for just that. I guess you could call it a negative review but hey, it’s my site and I get to choose (ha).
