An Ode to Materialism, Summer 2009 edition : thescruffypirate.org

An Ode to Materialism, Summer 2009 edition

Here is a list of things that I keep wishing I owned:

GPS watch with heart rate monitor for running and backpacking. The Garmin Forerunner 305 has almost everything except it only tells you the coordinates of points in Latitude and Longitude, so it isn't very useful in terms of matching your position on a map. The Garmin Forerunner 310X is their newest Forerunner so it might meet this last requirement. We'll see!
HD Video camera. For my interview project mostly. But also for just making fun movies.
Digital SLR. Because taking pictures is more fun with an SLR. I'm a Canon man myself. But don't want it to be too big, so probably one of their Rebel cameras.
Sewing machine that I understand. I inherited one from my grandma, but it scares the crap out of me!
A new bicycle with index shifters.
Some waterproof Ortlieb bicycle panniers
A new bicycle helmet. I left mine in Colorado but it is at least 7 years old. I think that is past the shelf-life.
Some new pants. Hopefully from Patagonia!

What do you guys want these days?

30 June 2009 12:18am UTC • 244 views • 4 comments

Tagged with desires, materialism, gps, videocamera, bicycling

4 comments

georrrge

30 June 2009 01:26am UTC

I'm with you on the Ortlieb bicycle panniers. I can't believe how expensive those are! Regarding the Garmin Forerunner 305 - what's the issue exactly? Are you looking for realtime positioning on a map? Sort of like a TomTom but for... Running?

I wonder if "some" HTML includes the MARQUEE tag. Hmmm........
Dread Pirate Benjamin

30 June 2009 07:51am UTC

My ideal GPS would serve two needs:

1. It would be able to tell me where I am right now, so that I can look it up on a real paper map. Until they can make portable devices as light, as big and as reliable as a paper map, paper is what I will use while backpacking or being in the outdoors.

2. Be able to track where I am and how fast I am moving, along with my heart rate (and maybe bike data like wheel speed and cadence, or running data like number of steps) while I am working out. I don't need this plotted on a map, but at least being able to know the instantaneous value of these would be perfect. The instantaneous data would be useful for the actual workouts, "Oh I have to keep going to get to 5 miles" or "Oh, I am not in my target heart zone" or "Oh, my cadence is lower than what Peter told me to keep in at".

I want to be able to get all of the above data off of the device and put it on my computer. Just for fun. Because I think statistics are fun. And maybe to see how it changes over time.

The Forerunner is almost perfect in that it will do both needs, 1 and 2, except it only gives you your coordinates in latitude and longitude. Which no maps use, but in particular the 7.5 minutes maps by the USGS don't use it. They use UTC coordinates. So the Forerunner is useless for backpacking. Make that one small change and I'd be sold!
Robert

30 June 2009 02:07pm UTC

The new Canon Rebel T1i / 500D will shoot 720p video at 30fps or 1080p at 20fps.
First Mate Beca

30 June 2009 09:15pm UTC

Hey, I need a bike helmet too! Want to go shopping for one with me? I also need a bike lock...and maybe a new seat...hmm...