Bill Menees's Blog

A few months ago I started a new website: NashDash.com. It contains a few running-related utilities that I've written when I couldn't find versions I liked elsewhere online. Currently, it contains:

• Single-Result Age Grading, which gives detailed age grading information for a single race result.
• Multi-Result Age Grading, which gives basic age grading information for an entire set of race results.
• Time Calculator, which allows you to enter expressions and formulas that use numbers, times, and dates. This is great for calculating paces, average times, etc.
• Unit Converter, which allows you to convert a quantity from one type of units to another.

I use the Time Calculator a lot. It's handy-dandy for calculating average interval paces, estimated finishing times for a given pace and distance, etc. I use the Single-Result Age Grading everytime I PR, and I use the Multi-Result Age Grading after important races like the Flying Monkey Marathon to see how everyone did relative to age grading.

Please check out what's there and let me know what you think, either through comments to this post, through NashDash's feedback link, or through email.

I have plans for other utilities that I may eventually get around to writing and publishing on NashDash. I've done some of the work on the following utilities, but they're not ready for general use yet:

• Pace Chart Generator - A lot of these exist on the net, but I have ideas for a generator different than any other I've seen. This is a low-priority item but relatively easy to code, so I may write it on some rainy day.
• Training Plan Generator - This would let you select or create training plans and then apply them to a calendar. For example, you could pick Hal Higdon's 5K Advanced training plan and choose to start it on Monday, April 6, 2009. Then you could view a printable calendar page and/or generate an iCalendar file that could be imported into any calendar program (e.g., Outlook, Google Calendar, iCal). This would be cool, but it's a big project, and I don't have much need for it. I've written about half of this, and I've imported about 60 good training plans I've found on the net. But it'll take a lot of motivation to ever finish this utility.
• Low-Cost Race Registration - It annoys me that Active.com charges such huge "processing fees" for race registrations, and they cram so many ads down your throat while overcharging you. I've done a lot of design work on implementing a low-cost race registration system so local running clubs (e.g., Nashville Striders) can offer race registrations without customers getting nailed for huge fees. I really want to implement this one day. This would benefit tons of people.

Labels: Running, Software

I've written a RunningAHEAD gadget for Windows Vista's Sidebar. It has the following features:

• Displays distance totals, latest workouts, or PRs.
• Has a "View Log" link to open the current log summary in a browser.
• Can show multiple logs and/or stat types by using multiple gadget instances.
• Can directly open workouts when "Latest Workouts" stats are displayed.
• Title can be customized, which is nice when showing multiple logs.
• Rounded corners, so you're less likely to cut yourself.

On the right is an image of four separate instances of the gadget in my Vista sidebar. This way I can view my stats and workouts while also getting in a little log stalking.

Please download "RunningAhead Stats" from the Vista Gadget Gallery and rate it well if you like it.

Labels: Running, Software

In 1998, I wrote an IDE called MIX Builder for developing and debugging programs on Donald Knuth's MIX computer as defined in his The Art of Computer Programming book series. Dr. Knuth is big into "perfectability", so he offers a $2.56 reward to the first person to find each error in his books.

While writing my MIX emulator, I was lucky enough to find two errors in TAOCP Volume 1, so I have two checks from Dr. Knuth for $2.56. The honor of having two rewards from Dr. Knuth is way cooler than having another $5.12 in my pocket, so I'd never cash his checks. Some have described Knuth's reward checks as "among computerdom's most prized trophies". I understand that completely, but it's hard to explain it to people that haven't tried to read TAOCP and don't know Dr. Knuth's background and major contributions to computer science.

Recently, I ran across an article about Knuth reward checks in Wikipedia. It has a list of known checks, so I added my two (#392 and #462) to the list. I also scanned in the letters that Dr. Knuth sent back with his annotations. He stopped using email on 1/1/1990, so he sent his responses along with the checks via snail mail.

• Scan of check and letter about the 1^st error I found.
• Scan of check and letter about the 2^nd error I found.

Labels: Software

Microsoft just released Windows PowerShell v1.0, which is a new object-oriented, .NET-aware, dynamically scriptable command-line shell for Windows. It's pretty cool, but I wanted the ability to launch a PowerShell window for a selected folder in Explorer the same way I can launch cmd.exe with the old "DOS Here" PowerToy from Microsoft.

Way back in the "Monad" beta days I wrote such a PowerToy and posted it to the private Microsoft newsgroups for the early adopters. Then once Microsoft changed from the Monad codename to the official PowerShell name, Scott Hanselman posted his own independently written "PowerShell Prompt Here" PowerToy. But his version was hardcoded to look for PowerShell under "C:\Program Files", and now for the 1.0 release, Microsoft moved PowerShell under the Windows\System32\PowerShell\v1.0 folder. So I've updated my old PowerToy to look at the correct location, and you can download it below.

PowerShellHere.inf.

Once you download the file, just right-click it and select "Install". Then when you right-click a folder in Explorer, you should have a "PowerShell Prompt Here" item on the folder's context menu.

Labels: Software

I've created this blog for a few reasons:

• I'm a programmer, and I have several CharityWare apps available on http://www.menees.com/. When I update any of them, I can use this blog to notify anyone that cares.
• I'm a martial artist, and I'm writing a book called The Road To Shodan: A Guide To Reaching First Degree Black Belt. I'm going to self-publish it sometime later this year using lulu.com, and I plan to communicate publically about the book through this blog.
• I'm a beginning knifemaker, and I'll be publishing photos of my knives and stories of my workshop experiences. Hopefully I can get feedback from a wide group of people here.

If any of this sounds interesting to you, please subscribe to my feed. If you'd like to know a little more about me, you can see my short biography at http://www.conradjoneskarate.com/.

Labels: Knifemaking, Martial Arts, Software