So in a little more than a week, I am competing in the Tough Mudder Wisconsin 2011 event, which is an obstacle course designed by British Special Forces.  I’m not exactly sure why I’m doing this… it turned out to be more of a dare than anything, but a team of 4 of us will be working our way through this crazy, 10-mile course with 25 obstacles with names such as “Devil’s Beard”, “Kiss of Mud” and “Electroshock Therapy”… At the end of the race you get free beer and free tattoos (?!)  Click below for an interactive map of what we’ll be in for:

My prep work for this event was doing p90x, replacing most of the cardio with simple 4-5 mile running workouts.  This was going fairly well for the first 6 weeks, until the wheels fell off and for the last 4-weeks or so I’ve definitely be slacking… this may prove disasterous race day, but the point is not to get through quickly, but to survive the event.  Maybe it is more bad-ass to do this unprepared?

Because this isn’t some sissy marathon, the gear you require for an event like this is different as well.  My list of what I’ll be using:

• Shirt: don’t have this specific one, but you can’t go wrong with this.  Duh!
• Shoes: Will likely wear an old pair of running shoes, or my old Merrell’s.  I’ve heard Vibram’s work well too, but too weird for me. Whatever you use, it’s going to get trashed.
• Shorts: Since this is a summer event, shorts are obviously what we’ll all be wearing.  Go retro with Umbros!
• Gloves: not sure I’ll wear them the whole time, but you are doing enough grappling that gloves should come in handy.  Peal Izumi have good fingerless ones that will get wet, but hopefully still have some grip.
• Camera: I’m a photographer, so of course, I need to capture the action.  No DSLR or standard point-n-shoot here. I just got the Olympus Stylus Tough 6020, so should be able to hold up.  It shoots 720p video, so should be good for some laughs as well.  Waterproof, shockproof.
• Flask: It’s a long event, but there are aid stations, so I’m not carrying a camelback… but a flask will come in handy.   It’s less than $5!  Big question is what to put in it… Jaegermeister?  Red Bull Vodka? Both? (that’s a Jaeger Bomb, by the way).

So excited and scared for this event.  I haven’t ran more than 5 miles until the training for this, and I haven’t ran 10 miles in over 20 years….  either way, it should be quite an adventure.  Check this video from a recent event to see what it is really all about.  Good luck to those of you participating, and remember to work together!

The highly anticipated release of the Boxee Box is finally upon us!  Since its debut at CES in January 2010, the thought of a relatively cheap consumer electronics device that could take the place of a typical media PC was indeed attractive.  While most likely initially targeted at those already quite familiar with the Boxee (or XBMC) interface, it is likely the sub-$200 device will bring an entire new market of casual over-the-top video users into the foray. This review will go through installation and use of many of the screens and local media types.

If you find this review helpful and wish to buy the Boxee box, please do so via this Amazon link to help support this site.  Thanks!

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After having the HTC Evo 4G for just over a month, thought I would spill the beans on all the Apps I’ve been using (afterall, Apps is my name…)  While these will likely work on most Android phones, they are all ones I use on the HTC Evo.  Since there are so many good apps, I’m also going to skip the super-obvious ones, like the Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, etc. apps. If you use those, just get the official one.  (I do use Peep for Twitter though).

First off, i’m a big believer in the ‘teach a man to fish’ philosophy, so one of the first Apps you should get is the AppBrain App Market. I typically use this in place of the ‘Market’ app, as it has what is popular in the last 24 hours, week, etc., and is a nice way to see what good new Apps are available.

Best part about all these apps?  They are all FREE, (unless where noted).  Many do have ads, so if that drives you nuts or you simply want to support the author, grab the paid version (usually just a couple of bucks).  The easiest way to get them is to simply look up the name below in either Market or in AppBrain and then download from there or click the name to get more info on each one.

Also, the ‘Showoff’ column is useful if you want to show someone the power of what your phone can do.

Finally, if you have the EVO, you should do yourself a favor and GET YOURSELF THE EXTENDED BATTERY.  I’ve had this for awhile, and you can heavily use your phone without worrying about it dying at the end of each day!  It’s the best ~$50 you’ll spend.

Note, this is dated 7/23/2010 and are my favorites from around that time.  Without further ado, the list sorted alphabetically:

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After spending a few weeks with the Canon 7D, I decided to put together my mini-review of the camera.  I was able to take it to a few events, and also on a 5-day vacation to Athens, Greece where it got quite a workout.  For perspective of this review, prior to using the 7D I’ve shot 4 different versions of the Canon Rebel series, (original, XT, XTi and XSi).  My Pro’s / Con’s are mostly related to moving from the Canon Rebel XSi.

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In the land of multi-terrabyte hard drives, iPods, MP3’s and ‘infinite playlists’, the art of actually using some restrain and editing to create a cohesive, interesting representation of your musical self is an art form long lost.

On my continual quest for quality and fresh music, about twice a year I create an 80-minute mix CD of my ‘favorites’ that I’m rocking at the moment.

While I haven’t made a ‘mix tape’ since college (yes, that is an actual one of mine above), I still have a CD player in my car which is where 90% of the mix is consumed.  Some rules I follow when creating my mix:

1. A majority of the music must be < 1 year old – While I might create a ‘best of grunge’ mix or something like that, for the most part, I want to hear new music.  The life of the CD is usually around 3-6 months until I am ready to make a new one.
2. Genre variety – I want to hit 2-3 genres at least, but no hard and fast rules.  Just not 80 minutes of metal–the mix needs some contrast (not so true of “Ultra Mosh II” above…)
3. No more than 3 songs from the same artist/album – If you really like an album, it forces you to pick your favorite 3.  Also, mix them up throughout the mix
4. Fill the 80 minutes as best you can – For my mix below, it clocks in at 79:59.11.  Yes, less than 1 second to spare! (with 0 second breaks between tracks as well)
5. Try to make the tracks ‘flow’ – This can be tough… I don’t spend hours doing this, but you typically want some contrast without abruptness
6. Don’t repeat a song from one mix CD to the next – Yeah, that song may be your favorite, but if that’s true, try and find a re-mix.  I did that below w/ the 2 Bloc Party tracks.

While you could, of course, do this exercise with an MP3 playlist, often you wouldn’t use any harsh editing because you usually don’t have constraints (after all, an 80 min. mix encoded at 256K is only about 160MB, which most every MP3 player has at least 10-100 times that much room…)

So without further ado, here is my Summer 2009 Mix.  The first thing you might notice when reading the below is that YOU HAVEN’T HEARD OF ANY OF THESE SONGS OR BANDS.  Well, the mix is mine, so that’s your problem…  I typically try to put some indie, punk, alternative, electronica, so while you may not know them, the songs work for me (and they are good, trust me).  Own your mix, it is something that is probably truly unique to you.

Matt’s 80-minute 2009 Summer Mix: (with links to either the video or a streamable version of the song)

1. Bloc Party – Ares (Villains Remix)
2. Julian Plenti  – Games For Days (Paul Banks of Interpol, solo album)
3. Röyksopp ft Robyn – The Girl & The Robot
4. Future Of The Left – Stand By Your Manatee
5. Flight of the Conchords – Sugalumps
6. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – With a Heavy Heart(I Regret to Inform You)
7. Silversun Pickups – Growing Old is Getting Old
8. Late of The Pier – Space and The Woods
9. The Bird and the Bee – Diamond Dave
10. Flight of the Conchords – You don’t have to be a Prostitute
11. The Mars Volta – Cotopaxi
12. Sunspot – Grand Guignol
13. Bloc Party – One Month Off (Filthy Dukes Remix)
14. The Bird and the Bee – My Love
15. Future of the Left – Arming Eritrea
16. Does it Offend you, Yeah? – Attack of the 60ft Lesbian Octopus
17. Silversun Pickups – Panic Switch
18. Flight of the Conchords – Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor
19. The Bird and the Bee – Polite Dance Song (this video is soooo David Lynch)
20. Sunspot – Sweet Relief
21. Silversun Pickups – Catch and Release

That clocks 79:59.11.  Do you still make mixes?  Favorite ones you’ve made?  Comments, baby.