I got a Drobo!

By Josh Highland in hardware, Josh's Rambling, Tech, video

I have entered into a relationship with a new piece of high tech equipment, Drobo. Drobo is a self proclaimed “Data Robot”. In technical terms its a ASD (Attached storage device) running a custom version of RAID 5. When coupled with a DroboShare, it becomes a NAS (network attached storage) device.

In non tech terms, its an external harddrive that is expandable (up to 16 terabytes!) and can keep your data secure. The droboshare allows your computers to connect to it over your home network.

In the past I have blogged about how I love backups and how having good backups have saved my ass. The Drobo is the next evolution in my backup strategy.

I have recently moved away from my Windows Vista desktop and started to use my new Mac Book Pro as my main computer system. I eventually want to retire all the desktops on my network and run only laptops. I wanted to find a solution that was robust, expandable and allowed all of y computers to share a pool of data. After doing some research on popular NAS setups, I decided to go with Drobo.

One of the things that I liked about Drobo was how mindlessly easy it is to add more hard drives to the system. It’s so easy that I shot a video of myself adding a terabyte of storage in less then 30 seconds.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4QlNkzyhlI[/youtube]

Right now I’m just testing the Drobo / DroboShare out. Once I get acquainted with it I’m sure there will be more blog posts.

My 2010 New Year’s Resolutions

By Josh Highland in Josh's Rambling

2009 was a great year and I accomplished a lot of good things.  This is a short list of what I want to accomplish in 2010.

  • Create a few more iPhone apps
  • Train more / get back into fighting condition
  • Switch over to Mac completely
  • Launch “IE Tech Scene”
  • Automate more of my income
  • Blog more
  • Reduce clutter in my life
  • Attend more conferences / conventions
  • Take more trips / vacations
  • Be as wireless as possible
  • Get a few more tattoos
  • Continue to be healthy and not get sick
  • Pay off my credit cards

Kicking it, the Muay Thai way

By Josh Highland in Josh's Rambling, tutorials

sit rama soon logo

I have been training Traditional Muay Thai (Thai kick boxing) for 3 years now. It’s a brutal sport, and I have the scars to prove it. It’s also a very rewarding activity for me.

I train at “Sit Rama Soon” (English Translation: Students of Rama Soon), under the direction of Kru Jay and Kru Joey. Both are former champion Muay Thai fighters from Thailand. Recently my coaches started posting videos of training sessions that they have filmed over the years, including this video of me teaching a new student how to throw a proper muay thai kick. I was unaware of my coaches filming this.

coachs_josh

What I am trying to show here is that the kick is more like a baseball swing, and your knee and hip placement are more important then your lower leg. You can almost think of your lower leg and foot as the end of a whip.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIzvHYWGvY4[/youtube]

How to throw a Muay Thai kick:

  1. Step in with your lead leg, turning your foot to a 45 degree angle
  2. Lift your rear leg, elevating your knee to the desired height
  3. As your leg raises, drop the same arm (right leg up – right arm down)
  4. Point your toes down (stand on your toes of the planted foot, point toes of the kicking foot)
  5. Turn your hips hard into the direction of the target, your hips should be verticle in impact
  6. Point your knee to the opposite side of the target (imagine the target isnt even there)
  7. Your shin should land on the target, NOT YOUR FOOT.
  8. Once the kick lands, push hard into the target
  9. Return to your fighting stance

It’s a lot of steps, but once you can make it all one solid flowing motion its a very powerful weapon. A good thai kick often has more striking power then a baseball bat.

sparing