Categories
General

F-150 Lightning Minnesota/Ohio Trip Summary

Intro

My son and I took a summer trip from Minnesota to Ohio in a 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning I purchased in February. This trip was nearly 1,700 miles, our first 300+ mile road trip in an EV.

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Pro Football HoF
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Rock and Roll HoF

Charging

Electrify America Chargers
I took advantage of 191 free kWh from EA as a courtesy from Ford for a new Lightning purchase where they give you 250 kWh for ‘free.’ I would not have used the EA chargers without the credit, as there was a Supercharger within a mile.

Indiana has stops called plazas along its highways where there is nothing else with gas, food, and charging. All of the EA-equipped Plaza stops were down due to upgrades. I’m so glad I had access to the Superchargers; working around the downed chargers would have been a headache.

I used the same charging location twice, on the way and when we returned. The same charger that worked on the way would not activate on my return trip. It’s not a huge deal, as I used another charger at the current location. It amplified known problems with EA reliability.

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My first EA visit in Rockford, IL, and everything worked great
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The return visit to the same charger didn’t work, so I had to use the cable from the opposite side

Tesla Superchargers
Having access to Superchargers gave me so much confidence. I don’t think I would have taken my truck without Supercharging. Kudos to Ford for making this happen.

I purchased the NACS to CCS A2Z adapter after being a loyal Lectron customer for a long time. The adapter is gold. It worked flawlessly.

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A2Z Typhoon Adapter

Unfortunately, for v3 Superchargers, the Lightning takes two spots because of the charge port location. There was no double spot for me to fit at two of eight stops. In these two instances, we waited 5 and 15 minutes. It was a minor inconvenience.

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Not enough spots because I take two of them 🙁

I purchased a monthly Supercharger subscription for $12.99. The subscription feature forces me to use the Tesla app; I cannot use Ford’s plug-and-charge as I would pay the standard rates. I want to see the subscription integrated into plug-and-charge. The payback on the subscription is about 130 kWh, and since I charged 519 kWh at Superchargers, it paid for itself quickly.

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Plenty of space and reliable charging

Hotel destination charging
At the first hotel, I was surprised the charging was not free. They had a partner, Turn On Green, who charged $0.35 kWh. That was cheaper than most DC Fast chargers, and I did not have to wait, as it charged while we slept.

The second hotel had free Level 2 Tesla Wall Connectors with NACS connections. I used my A2Z NACS to J1772 at this location. Oddly, there were four stalls and only three chargers, which were full upon arrival. This taught me not to depend on the available chargers; on the first night at the hotel, the chargers were all in use. It is a good problem; there were many EVs at the hotel!

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Hotel destination charging with a fellow Ford Mustang Mach-E

Charging summary
The average stop between using the restroom and checking out the store for snacks was 12-15 minutes. I didn’t mind the charging time as I have a mindset that I am not filling up with gas every week since I charge at home, so all the time I save week to week did not bother me for a rare road trip.

Everyone asks, “How long did it take to charge?” On average, it took 36 minutes and 24 seconds. Two of my most extended stops were 51 and 52 minutes, which were end-of-day charging when I could have waited for hotel overnight destination charging. Using destination charging would have only saved me 4 minutes on average.

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Plenty of juice for everyone!

Here are the stats:

  • Average charging time: 36m 24s
  • Total DCFC stops: 10 – 2 EA, 8 Tesla Superchargers
  • Total miles: 1,675
  • Total charging time: 6h 04m
  • Total destination charging time: 11h 24m – while we slept
  • Total kWh added: 745
  • Average of 1.8 miles per kWh
  • Average kWh added: 68 kWh
  • Total cost: $227.74, including the Tesla subscription and 191 ‘free’ kWh.
    • If I had not used the EA credits, $297.53.

I only had two instances of being unable to pull in and charge immediately. I am concerned there are not enough Superchargers. I predict Elon‘s madness at firing most of the Supercharging team will make it a problem within two years.

Navigation Software

I used ABRP (A Better Route Planner), Apple Maps, and PlugShare for this trip.

ABRP
I used ABRP to plan the charging stops and track my charge percentage as I progressed between chargers. I find ABRP accurate and reliable for creating a path to the destination. I bought an annual membership when I purchased the truck because no other software like ABRP exists.

I do not care for ABRP’s navigation. On this trip, there were a few instances where it wanted me to take inefficient paths where Apple Maps knew better. The audio navigation repeats itself too much and would suggest “take a slight right” in the middle of a road where I needed to go straight.

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ABRP via Apple Car Play

Apple Maps
I used Apple Maps for general navigation and alerts. I kept Apple Maps in the background to listen for navigation for exits, speed traps, and road hazards.

I was frustrated with Apple Maps’s unnecessary stops, which were overly conservative. When the charge level is less than 25%, Apple Maps would want me to charge, often at undesirable chargers limited to 50kWh. As a result, I shut down Apple Maps many times at the end of a run and used the planning and navigation of ABRP.

Ford Software

Blue Cruise
Wow, what a treat to have Blue Cruise! I thought I would be asking my son to drive for a few hours each way during this trip, assuming I would be fatigued, but I was not, so I drove the entire time. The lane assist and cruise control built into Blue Cruise made driving effortless. I only needed to change lanes and take over on charging exits or in the cities. The charging stops also helped prevent fatigue.

Charging and Navigation
It’s a good thing it’s summer, as I did not need to precondition the battery. If it were winter, the lack of awareness of Superchargers in the Ford Navigation software would be a problem. To work around this limitation, I have seen some forums suggest tricking the Ford software by selecting a nearby charger and then visiting a Supercharger.

There is an application called “Charge Assist” which does show Tesla Superchargers, but there are two issues:

  1. You cannot use the app while driving.
  2. It does not precondition your battery. Even though a user can navigate to a Supercharger from Charge Assist, Ford Navigation does not precondition the battery.

One would think I could use Ford Navigation to precondition and Apple Maps to navigate, but they conflict when trying to run Apple Maps and Ford Navigation. If you have a route set on Apple Maps to a Supercharger, for example, and then go to Ford Navigation to select a nearby charger, it will cancel the Apple Maps navigation.

We need better solutions for preconditioning before this winter.

Curious folks

Except for one Rivian, I was the only non-Tesla at all the Superchargers we stopped at. Many people wanted to know how I could use a Supercharger, or they gave me a funny look in the presence of all the Tesla models. Everyone was generally friendly, even when I saw someone pull into the spot where I was taking two places due to the location of my charging port. I had planned to bring a cone to block the neighboring spot but forgot.

One gentleman I spoke with told me about his newly purchased Tesla Model 3, which had 30k miles for $22k from a rental company. He bought it for his daughter and suggested she could drive the vehicle for 200k miles but joked she would likely crash it before that. His logic was that by buying a Tesla with an LFP battery, he would not have to worry about the renters’ past behavior. I thought it was a great idea!

While I was at an EA charger, I exchanged details with the owner of a Mercedes EV. He was delighted with his car and said he could get nearly 400 miles on a charge in about 30 minutes. He had difficulty on some routes because of the lack of CCS chargers but was overall happy with his experience.

Another gentleman I spoke with was charging his Ford Mustang Mach-E with a free 50 kW charger at a travel plaza in Indiana. He was asking about the NACS to CCS adapter and did not seem to mind he was there for an hour and 20 minutes.

On our last stop in Wisconsin, I met a guy with a Tesla Model S. This was his second Model S, as he previously had a 2014 model, and he told me he drove that vehicle nationwide. He stated it was way different ‘back then’ because he had to stop at RV parks to charge with level 2 charging. He was a real pioneer of long-distance travel with an EV!!

Many Tesla drivers wanted to know about the Lightning, whether I liked it, the actual range, and other questions. It was fun chatting with so many folks! One thing we all had in common was that we love driving our EVs, as they are so fun.

VS. Gas

I previously owned a 2013 F-150 Ecoboost. Trips in my old truck would get 18-20MPG. At $3.29 a gallon on average, my fuel costs would have been $306.15, a $8.62 saving. At 20MPG, it would cost $21.99 less than my EV charging costs.

Summary

The Supercharging network is a game-changer, to no surprise. I had zero anxiety about availability, uptime, or any other aspect. I would likely only have made the trip in this vehicle if I had the A2Z adapter and access to the Supercharging network. With the known reliability issues with Electrify America and the many 50 kW chargers, there would have been way too much waiting and anxiety.

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I found a spot after waiting a few minutes and blocked a future visitor from charging

Beyond the quality time with my son and as a geek gathering data, it was a great trip. The truck is very comfortable, it drives well, and Blue Cruise is great!

The software integration has a long way to go. My parents would not be comfortable with the lack of integration and simplicity of a Tesla. They have never driven an EV, but considering my parents in this situation helps me understand that Ford’s software is not yet ready for mainstream use. I suppose someone could map an overly conservative route with many stops to give confidence, but I do not see my parents or wife being patient with the current solution. As mentioned, the inability to navigate with the Ford software and pre-condition for Tesla Superchargers is a real problem that Ford needs to resolve.

Categories
General

Xcel Energy EV Accelerate Program Review – Minnesota

**I drafted this post a few years ago and found it in my drafts folder. The accelerate program has changed a bit since this was originally written. I’ll follow up to address my transition to a dedicated second meter.**

Carolyn and I purchased a new Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid in November 2018 and signed up for the Xcel Energy EV Program to leverage lower charging costs for our new car.

A breakdown of the program:

  • Regular energy rates are $.0932 kWh in the winter and $.10582 kWh in the summer.
  • The EV rate for Xcel Energy is $.042 a kWh between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. on weekdays and all weekend, Friday night through Monday morning. Seven holidays are also billed at off-peak prices: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.
  • Level 2 charger options:
    • 32 amp ChargePoint
    • 40 amp Juicebox 40 Pro

There are two charger participation options:

  1. The monthly option is $17.47, and it includes a charger lease and the ‘metering’ fee for the duration of the program. After two years, you can give the charger back or purchase it.
  2. Lump sum fee of $886 and monthly ‘metering’ fee of $7.10.

The cost for our car to fully charge 14.5 kWh is now $.62, compared to $1.35 in the winter or $1.53 in the summer.

What we elected to do

We purchased the Juicebox 40 Pro since it offers 40amps versus the 32amps of the ChargePoint charger.

The Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid

The Clarity is rated at 47 miles on a 14.5 kWh charge, the full battery capacity is 17 kWh, and gets 40-42 MPG once on gas. A full charge takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes using a level two charger.

My review

We elected to join this program to save money on car charging. A full charge of $.62 offers about 30 miles in the winter or 55 in the summer (more on this later), which is very attractive.

I have two main issues with the program. First, the program charger cost is too high. The $886 Xcel Energy charges is $300 more than you can purchase a Juicebox 40 Pro from eMotorwerks. The only difference I can figure out is that this Juicebox 40 Pro has a custom firmware versus the ‘normal’ model. Second, the monthly ‘metering’ charge of $7.10 is higher than the $5 cost of a second meter. I understand this is a new technology, but the bottom line is that the level 2 chargers offered in this program use their wireless connections to connect back to Xcel, likely via API calls. There are investments in this technology to get started, but it’s likely cheaper to manage than the wireless meters that do not use our home wireless. What will they do when people have two vehicles? $14.20 in monthly metering charges is not viable. At that point, install a second meter and pay just $5 a month for all your EV needs. The upfront estimates for this were $1,800+ for me.

A few things to note:

  • Xcel’s licensed electricians will charge you additional money for running the circuit
  • The cold matters! Our Honda Clarity gets about 28-30 miles on a full charge in the cold winter. This is a significant decrease in miles per charge compared to the advertised 47 miles. We have not experienced it yet, but apparently, in the summer, we will get up to 55 miles on a charge.
  • The problems in the winter are that the battery is less effective, and using heat kills the battery quickly. The limitation of only charging between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. is also limiting.
  • The Clarity gets between 40-42 MPG on gasoline, and therefore, off-peak energy combined with gas offers us about 40 miles for about $1.25 ($.62 for charging and less than a quarter gallon of gas @ $.50), which is less than the cost of a gallon of gas. The regular EV rate would again be $1.35 for 30 miles, and then we could charge again during the day, which is still cheaper than gas.

Based on the upfront costs and the $7.10 a month in metering costs, my break-even point is 1.3 years. Therefore, I will come out ahead beginning in early 2020.

Categories
Friends

Flashback Friday

I was recently going through my digital photos from “back in the day” and ran into some gems that I’ll try to share from time to time. So, let’s start with Marc and Genell’s wedding.

You can find the rest of the pictures by clicking here

One of the nicer ones 🙂

We sure look tough :-\

I miss the mustache

See Carolyn, you used to dance

🙂

Categories
General

Forget something at home when traveling? PrimeNow from Amazon to the rescue

Recently I attended a conference in Las Vegas. On the first morning of the conference, I discovered that I forgot my belt. At first I looked for a Jos A Bank store that I could have used Uber to get to and from my hotel, then I thought that maybe I could find one in a local shop in the many stores in the ‘malls’ of the casinos, and finally it dawned on me that I could use PrimeNow from Amazon. I opened the application, searched for belts, found one that I liked, and added it to my cart. In this instance the belt was $19.99 which did not meet the $20 requirement, no problem I thought, so I added some gum 🙂

I did all of this at 8am and my order was scheduled for delivery to the hotel between 10am and noon. I left comments for the driver to call me when he was within 20 minutes of a hotel and we met in the main entrance where he handed me a paper bad and drove off. I had my belt at 10:30am and it turned out to cost a lot less than traveling somewhere to get one or over paying in the ‘malls’ of Vegas.

Thanks Amazon!!

Categories
Friends Sports

2015 Chicagoland Speedway NASCAR weekend

This year for race weekend I was joined by some co-workers Galen, Mike, and Roger. We joined up with our neighbors Pat and Gina for a great weekend of fun.

Click here to view the full album

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Night race action
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Day time at the track
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Even Santa partied with us
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Our great neighbors Pat and Gina
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Categories
Friends Sports

2014 Chicagoland Speedway NASCAR weekend

In September Dan, Sean, and I went to Chicagoland speedway for a very fun weekend of camping, racing, and making friends. We lucked out and won a Sprint VIP experience which allowed us into the pits and saw both cars and drivers up close. It was a really good time!

Click here to view the full album

Hanging out with Miss Sprint Cup

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In the pits

Our camping buddies – we ‘adopted’ a college track team that was tenting between us and our neighbors.

Categories
Truck/Towing/Camper

ProPride 3P Hitch Review

Background

We purchased our Palomino SolAire 317BHSK and a Ford F-150 last year. When talking with the camper dealership they told me with complete confidence that the Equal-i-zer 4 point hitch would be the perfect solution for my combo of truck and camper. I found out very quickly in the six trips that we were able to take before putting the camper in storage for the winter that the Equal-i-zer hitch was not adequate for pulling a 35′ travel trailer in cross winds.

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Justification

After sharing my experiences on a couple of the forums that I frequent of being shoved around and fish tailing on the road by random wind gusts, I was quickly directed to the ProPride 3P product. First, I was a bit hesitant to spend the money on this hitch but I could not find a single review that was negative or suggested that this product would not do what it says. There were many ProPride reviews suggesting that existing users would not pull without one. Second, the resale market on these hitches was very encouraging. I found a ‘deal’ on Craigslist for one that was for sale and it was gone before I was able to reach the seller. Third, when I spoke with Sean from ProPride. Sean was very patient and answered all of my questions and was not pushy at all. Finally, the safety is very important for my family and others that we are sharing the road with.

We had a trip planned for Yellowstone in July and I knew that I could not pull for that long of a trip with our existing hitch. I called Sean and placed my order and I had the hitch in about a week. It was shipped in multiple boxes and to my wife’s frustration, it was shipped while I was out of town and she had the pleasure of moving the heavy boxes into the garage 🙂

Installation

I prepared for the installation by reviewing the installation manual a few times. Once I started the install, it went very well. The longest task that I had to tackle was getting the tank tray to set on the frame. I had to cut around the U bolts to get this to work.

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The total time from beginning to end was only about 3 hours with the help of a friend. I would say that we were taking our time and double checking things many times. Since installing the hitch I have called Sean a couple of times with some questions. He is always kind and quick to respond.

Towing Experience

We made many trips this summer including the Yellowstone trip which was about 2,300 miles of towing for just that trip. I now tow with complete confidence, there is no more white knuckle driving that I was experiencing with the previous hitch which made for a much more relaxing time.

I will share that when I first pulled with the hitch I made my test pull on a pretty windy day and was getting pushed by the wind. To be clear and help manage expectations, this hitch will not put you on rails on the road. It will however prevent any affects to your steering on the road. The result is that the camper and truck are pushed in parallel when wind strikes the side of your truck and camper. The point is that the ProPride hitch does not allow the tail to wag the dog which results in a much safer ride.

As an added bonus, the hitching and unhitching process is much more smooth than dealing with greasy weight distribution bars that you have to wrench up. Also, the ProPride hitch reverses without issues where previously I had to drop the weight distribution bars on the Equal-i-zer hitch.

Conclusion
I could not be happier with the decision to purchase the ProPride hitch. The installation and support from Sean was great and the towing experience is so much better! My friend that helped me install my hitch also purchased bought one and has been equally as happy with his purchase.

Feel free to ask questions, I am happy to answer them.

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Categories
Truck/Towing/Camper

Air Lift 5000 Ultimate & Load Controller Review

Problem

Our F-150 has squatted in the rear end since we started pulling our travel trailer. Even when using either the Equalizer 4 Point or ProPride 3P weight distribution hitches I wanted the front end to sit a little lower. I never felt that the front end was overly light but I knew that the truck could sit more evenly.

Prior to install with trailer picture

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Solution

To solve this issue I decided to first purchase the Air Lift 5000 Ultimate (88200) and try it out. Air Lift has a guarantee with their products so I really had nothing to lose. I decided on the 5000 Ultimate version over the other two available models for my truck. The smaller model I thought was not strong enough for what I wanted and the regular 5000 model did not have a jounce bumper which I feel is needed on the F-150 because the install calls for removing the factory bumper.

Air Bag Installation

I started the installation of the airbags by jacking up the truck and removing the tires. After having a problem removing one of the tires and having some missing parts (grr) I decided to try without removing the tires from under the truck. I put the air valves to fill the bags though the lower license plate holes which has a clean look. I was able to perform a 24 hour pressure test without any issues. The install was easily done from underneath the truck and took me about three hours.

Passenger and driver side installs

Valves in license plate

Decision on the compressor

The install of the air bags had two separate air valves which can create an uneven fill between the two sides. Also, I may not always be in a place with a air compressor available. I could have gotten by with carrying a remote tank with us when pulling but the on board compressor is very convenient.

I selected the Air Lift Load Controller Single Heavy Duty Compressor (25854). I felt that this model had a reasonable cost and had the heavy duty compressor which could be exposed to the elements versus the standard duty compressor which I understood should be installed inside the cab.

Compressor Installation

After reviewing options for locating the gauge, connecting power, and routing the wires and air tubes I started the installation which took about 4 hours. I took my time and double and triple checked many points of the installation. I located the compressor under the truck bed in the center. The pressure gauge and compressor controller is located on the left side of the driver side dash.

Gauge location

Compressor location

Post install picture with trailer

For comparison – Prior to install picture with trailer

Conclusion

The air bags @ 0 PSI with no trailer weight versus 60 PSI with the trailer weight results in no height change in the rear and only a 1/4″ raise on the front with trailer weight. Prior to having the air bags installed, I was down multiple inches in the rear and 1″ high on the front.

I am very happy with the products that Air Lift offers. I was a bit frustrated with the missing parts but Air Lift quickly sent them out after a phone call. The truck is much more level and I no longer feel that I am leaning back in a recliner when pulling. I have some more pulling to do to be sure but my first experience with wind while pulling with the bags has felt like I am not pushed as much with wind or tractor trailers passing. I would recommend these products to anyone.

Categories
Reviews Tech

A review of the Fitbit Flex and Aria scale

I recently had the opportunity to become familiar with the Fitbit product line through a work project and decided to take advantage and give the product a try.

The Fitbit product

The basis of the Fitbit product is a pedometer that tracks steps and other functions such as counting the amount of stairs climbed, vibrating alarms, and sleep tracking.

Fitbit comparisons

The first Fitbit that I used was the Fitbit Zip. This is their least expensive model and sells for about $60. The Zip tracks steps and some other items like the time, calories burned, etc. From the reviews that I read on Amazon, it seemed that many people liked the Fitbit One and Flex models which are newer and offer some new features including sleep tracking.

flexI did some research on the One and the Flex and they both have comparable features. I decided to purchase the Flex because it is waterproof, it goes on your wrist like a watch, and has a silent alarm. I was worried that I would lose the One which many people complained about in the reviews that I read on Amazon. The largest complaint about the Flex was that it was not as accurate as the One or Zip and it does not count stairs climbed like the One.

I have since compared the Flex with the Zip to gauge the accuracy of the Flex. Over the course of three days I found that out of an average of over 10,000 steps in a single day that the Flex was only 284 steps short of the count of the Zip. I will take the difference of 2.84% for the ability to hopefully not lose the Flex and the ability for it to get wet. The alarm is a nice feature for a bonus.

Aria Scale

The next item that I decided to purchase from Fitbit was their Aria product which is a weight scale that syncs with the Fitbit.com site through your Wi-Fi connection. Not only does it capture the weight of its users, it can also gather BMI information. The Aria is not limited to a single user, it is intelligent enough to recognize up to eight different people.

scale

Here is and example of the weight graph in the Fitbit.com site. It supplies more detail and is nice to have for reference. The first spike on the left was the result of a week at the cabin in the summer 🙂

weightgraph

The combination of the Flex and Aria scale

With both the Flex and Aria, the Fitbit.com site becomes very informative. I can track my weight history, my activity, calorie counts, calorie burn, water intake, and food intake. Fitbit has opened up an API layer to allow other products and services to be synced with Fitbit.com. I can use the large food database of MyFitnessPal and the tracking of bike rides with Endomondo to input into my calories consumed and burned. The Fitbit.com site then becomes a nice ‘hub’ for all of your activities and inputs.

The positive effect of using a Fitbit

Being more aware of my activity levels has been motivating. When I am close to 10,000 steps I want to meet or exceed my goal. When I am really light on step counts, I want to get something logged for the day. When I take a walk to get the full 10,000 steps I will go out of my way to make sure that I will have reached my goal by the time I am home. When I travel, I am on the treadmill until my goal is hit.

Stepping on the Aria scale every morning has been rewarding to see the progress of my weight loss. It also allows me to watch my weight. If I am trending up then I know that I need to take it easy for a couple of days.

I have been working on losing weight since late 2012 and was generally aware of where I was but had no record or reference. Recently, I asked my doctor to provide some weight history and he was able to print a graph. Now I can produce this information myself as shown above.

The social aspect

friendsrankingPart of the benefit of having others with Fitbit products around you is the benefit of the social integration of the Fitbit.com site. On the site, I can check my progress compared to my friends over the last seven days and I get a weekly email with my personal progress of many metrics along with where I stand with my friends. As you can see below, I am not doing very well in the winter time…

 

Conclusion

Being a geek I was drawn to the technology behind the Fitbit product. The integration that they offer with other sites and services is a good indication to me that they are going down the right path with a somewhat ‘open’ platform that recognizes the strength of other services.

Carolyn and I have both use the Flex model and have seen an explosion of usage at work and with friends over the last nine months. The Fitbit product line has been a positive influence on our lives by encouragement and awareness of activity and other health related metrics. I am a big fan!

Categories
Charity

Feed my starving children

A couple of weeks ago we had a team gathering at Feed My Starving Children. The team had a lot of fun and the competitive juices began flowing between the assembly tables that Team Delta was working.

By the end of our shift we were proud to produce 72 boxes out of a total of 42 people that were volunteering (including people from Target and other local companies). The ‘normal’ number of boxes is one per person so we crushed the 1:1 ratio by 1.7:1 🙂

Lots of fun!!

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