The new Treo 800w revealed?

Caught this over at MobileTopSoft.

I've never used Windows Mobile before, but alway willing to try new things... tsk tsk..

EVDO, built in GPS, WiFi, high-resolution screen...yummy.

Thanks to Vincent for the scoop via Twitter.

Talking to the world via El Paso

One plus side to my company's recent acquisitions is the travel involved in bringing our newer warehouses online with the rest of our data network nationwide. A downside? All work and no play!

Unfortunately, the hotel where I'm staying has a pool, but no workout room, and I've yet to take some time to map out a running route to get a few miles in. I would absolutely love to get a run in on those roads that run along the mountainside. The scenery around here is absolutely beautiful, and the temps are nearing 90F- my kind of weather.

This new 400,000 sq. ft. warehouse will take in the four manufacturing plants we have here in the El Paso area. The company is one we acquired last year, and we're consolidating, and streamlining our manufacturing in this section of the country.

Hopefully I'll get a few more photos up before I'm done. Be sure to check out my Twitter page here for some of the impromptu photos I take when I'm mobile!

Seven Mile Milestone

I took on my longest run to date Saturday of seven miles. Both my Garmin Forerunner and Nike+ system calculated just over 7.5 miles, but that's OK by me. I had a great run!

I decided to run along Chicago's lakefront trail beginning in Lincoln Park at Irving Park Rd., with my turnaround point at 3.5 miles just north of Navy Pier at Oak Street beach. I've never run here before and I felt like a little lost kid in a giant park surrounded by skycrapers- a weird feeling considering I've been clocking six milers near home.

Don't get me wrong, it's convenient running near home, but the scenery is getting BORING! Plus, being around so many other runners in Chicago was a neat feeling.

Here's a photo I took near my turnaround point:



I've been blessed with relatively pain-free runs since my nagging knee issues late last year. During the last mile, my left ankle felt like a knife was being plunged into it and being wiggled around. Fortunately, it only lasted for about 15 steps and I took it as a sign that I needed new running shoes soon. I've had my current shoes for close to two years now, and it's time for a newer pair.

My maintenance training continues this week:

Mon: 2 miles easy
Tue: cross train/weights
Wed: 6 miles
Thu: Rest
Fri: cross train/weights
Sat: 7 miles
Total miles: 15

My actual training schedule for the Rockford Half Marathon won't start until the first week in February, and I'll be joining the Chicago Area Runner's Association half-marathon training program in mid-February.

Bring it on!

Last day of class

1. Books- check.
2. Coffee- check.
3. Homemade cookies (thanks sis!)- check.
4. Stress- check.
5. Xbox 360 for break time- check.

Tomorrow is the last day of class for the year. Thank goodness.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Hitting the books.

It's test time.

Crossing fingers!

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Blind, anyone?

Super-giant calculators.

Who needs these?

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Rock Show night

Enjoying some Lake County area bands at Reggie's Live in Chicago.

Pictured is Dormlife.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Real Guitar Hero

My nephew Danny shredding Lamb of God on hard.

I'm not worthy.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Punk Rock at its finest

Stiff Little Fingers opening for the amazing Naked Raygun at the Congress Theatre in Chicago.

Getting ready!

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Holy Grocery List Batman!

Meh... the post title is kind of lame... oh well... it's late!

This is sort of an addendum to this post where I talk about the fact that I'm considerably hungrier ever since I've ramped up my marathon conditioning.

Well, I spent the most I've ever spent on groceries this week! I've got some serious food here people... we're talking all the healthy goodness to keep me fueled up for these 13 mile weeks that I've been putting in- with even more miles to come.

Still, my weight has remained the same, never really moving out of the usual 125 to 128 pound range that I've registered most of my life. I no longer crave the junk I usually spoil myself with when I'm constantly on the go:

• Coke (now usually replaced by chocolate milk)
• French fries (I get an upset stomach nowadays when I eat these)
• M&M's and LOTS of sweets (my dentist will thank me for this one)
• Fast food joints (OK, so I cheat SOMETIMES)

Miles since Saturday: 14.20

Here's my schedule for the next few days as I prepare for the Turkey Trot in Chicago!:

Today: 3 miles (done)
Thurs: Rest
Fri: 3 miles
Saturday: 6 miles (unless my knee tells me otherwise)
Sunday: Rest
Monday: 3 miles
Tues: 3 miles
Wed: 3 miles

I've got a super busy day at the office tomorrow. Catch ya on the flip side...

Autumn Morning

These chilly autumn mornings always seem so drab
Why can't we just grow summer in a lab?
It's that last thread of my sanity I find hard to grab
And makes me crawl into my shell like a lowly hermit crab

photo and poem by:
J. Mendoza
11-6-07

Rainbow Sweater

I once saw a man with a rainbow sweater.
I'm sure it made him feel comfy and dry.
His day may have been sad, and it made him feel better.
But I soon had to cover my eyes!

J. Mendoza '07

Funny how the socks on the rack to his right match his sweater. He should of picked some up while he was at it.

... at the grocery store.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Chicago Marathon Finish Line

Update: One runner collapsed and died and over 300 were sent to area hospitals due to the intense heat. The race organizers decided to stop the marathon after four hours and turn runners back because it was so dangerous, and most water stations were out of liquids.

Incredible.
















Truly inspirational. Period.

This wheelchair runner crept up the hill on Roosevelt Ave. towards the finish line along with 40,000 other runners.

The temperature reached a record high in the upper 80's, and the marathon had a record number of registrations.

I can't think of a bigger test of endurance and strength than this.

See you next year.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Chicago Marathon Mile 13

These are what the running world calls the Elite's. - runners that are built to finish long marathons in short times. These runners are still going at a fast pace with the course only half done.

Mile 13 finds the immense running field thinned out. At 9:30 a.m. I'm seeing the beginning of the pack. The runners have been on the streets for one hour and twenty minutes.

The crowds are incredibly huge and very loud.

Just awesome.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Chicago Marathon Mile 2

The runners are off!

Mile 2 marker at Adam's and State with 24 to go!

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Fix this first

The last time I checked, "Fix" and "Repair" mean the same thing?

Computer repair sign in the window at Circuit City, Gurnee Mills.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Kettle Moraine Day 2

Hiked close to 4 miles of the Ice Age trail at Kettle Moraine State Park in Wisconsin today.

A morraine is a deposit of rocks and boulders left by the retreating glaciers. The area in the state park is filled with these rocky hills and are challenge to walk over because there are so many rocks.

The night air is warmer this evening, so it should make for comfortable sleeping.

Tomorrow we have a good breakfast and then pack up to head home.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Kettle Morraine Day 1

It's close to 7 p.m. and I've just settled in to camp at beautiful Kettle Morraine State Park near Eagle, Wi.

I'm actually here with about 15 other campers with a camping enthusiasts group that I'm in. Looks like good times are ahead.

I'll be here until Sunday. My trusty Treo still has service and data on the Sprint network, so I'll try and post again soon.

LOTS of VERY large mosquitos here!

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Gadget World Madness- my thoughts

I'm still catching my breath from all of the recent technology news that has popped up this week. I do have a few thoughts on things that I'll quickly summarize here:

Palm Foleo Cancelled:

My Treo was abuzz Tuesday afternoon with Twitter tweets, Google alerts, and finally an email from Palm president and CEO, Ed Colligan, announcing the end of the Foleo, for now anyway:

"I have decided to cancel the Foleo mobile companion product in its current configuration and focus all our energies on delivering our next generation platform and the first smartphones that will bring this platform to market." -Ed Colligan, President & CEO, Palm Inc. (from the Official Palm Blog)

Initially, I had mixed feelings about the Foleo. I can understand having a large screen to browse the web, sync and read my email, etc., but I have a low profile laptop that does the job really well. Even still, I couldn't picture paying $599 for it.

I hope Palm can lick their wounds on this, focus, and come out with the ultimate smartphone product for us Palm loyalists.

iPod Mania:

Update: Steve Jobs to offer early iPhone buyers $100 store credit after news of price drop.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the newest line of iPods on Wednesday, including the new iPod Touch, which is the equivalent of the iPhone without the phone part. And to the dismay of many iPhone early adopters, the price of the phone was dropped $200 after only two months on the market. The news of this price drop was not taken lightly by a friend of mine who bought the phone on the day it was released. He considered the news "aggravating" and a "slap in the face" by Apple.

I, too, was eager to get in line to get an iPhone when it was released last June, but I was only a few months into a new Palm Treo 755P, and I couldn't part with Sprint, my long time carrier (and happy customer). I seriously had a gut feeling that Apple was going to release a new iPod with iPhone features, but wasn't sure when. I guess I learned my lesson a couple of years ago when I purchased a Sony Clie UX-50 Palm PDA at Best Buy. It was the highest I'd ever paid for a PDA at $599. This device was way ahead of its time, and came with wireless, bluetooth, voice recorder, camera & video recorder, thumb keyboard, and a high-res flip screen. The UX-50 was discontinued (as was their entire PDA line) by Sony only 5 months after I had purchased it, and it left me fuming.

I never bought another Sony product again.

So what's next?

The life of a gadget lover is hard. Do you get the latest and greatest now? Or wait to see what happens? Do I need it now? (shakes head yes). Can I afford it now? (shakes head maybe). Technology moves at break neck pace, and it's hard to keep up- take that from a career IT guy. But still, it's always fun to browse a store shelf or two to see what new toys are out there- just leave the wallet at home (yea right).

Cut -Sleeves Man

I can't get over the guy's sleeveless shirt he's wearing.

It looks as if he hacked off a long sleeve shirt to make the sleeves shorter. It's just a horrible hack job- seriously.

I crack up everytime I look at it.

The least he can do is make them even on both sides! LOL.

Only in Round Lake.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone