As software developers, we need to be careful with metrics. I think there is an understanding that it's possible to cause more harm than help with an ill-chosen approach to metrics. One of the concerns is metrics that are susceptible to gaming. To me, a concern at least as great as gaming is measuring the wrong things.
The primary opportunity for measuring the wrong thing is by measuring mechanisms instead of results. For example, measuring pairing is a measuring a mechanism. Measuring the degree of siloing is measuring a result. Measuring testing is measuring a mechanism. Measuring code quality, but better yet product quality is measuring a result. It's the results that we care about more than the mechanisms. The mechanisms are a means to an end, not the end in themselves.
It's critical to measure the result rather than the mechanism. The first reason for this is that it's less susceptible to gaming. Consider measuring the number of tests versus the number of support calls received. Certainly, both can be gamed. But it's far easier to artificially jack up the number of tests. The real desire is to produce a system of great quality, which is subjective. It's harder to measure these subjective things, but it's worth it.
The second reason is that if we measure mechanisms, we'll miss important components of producing a quality system. So, for example, tests are a mechanism that help us deliver quality systems, but not the only mechanism. What we really care about is the quality of the delivered product. What happens if we measure the desired results instead of the means to achieve that result? First, it's harder to measure, and the outcome is more subjective. But, by measuring that, we also indirectly measure all those little things that we do as developers to make sure we don't get those 2AM calls, such as perusing the code a bit before check-in, or being well-read on pitfalls and benefits of various patterns.
The third reason for measuring the result instead of the mechanism is that measuring mechanism creates a box to think in. To make a trivial example, if we take as a metric the number of JUnit tests, we'll never be free to consider alternatives. We'll always create JUnit tests, because that's what measured. When the next great thing comes along, we'll be slower to adopt it, since it's not what we're measuring. We're thinking in a box. If we're measuring results, we will be more inclined to adopt new techniques as they come along to the extent that they seem to provide a real contribution to product quality.
It's easier to measure mechanisms than results. The main reason for this is that mechanisms tend to be more quantifiable than subjective results. The ease of measuring mechanisms is why most companies do it this way, and remain mediocre. The rule of thumb is this: You'll get more of what you measure. If you want more of a certain technique, measure it, and you'll get more of it. If you want more product quality, measure that instead - whatever it takes - and you'll get more of that. When it comes down to brass tacks, you don't want more of certain mechanisms, you want better results.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
OT Middle Fork Trip Report - 11/1 to 11/2
This was my second hike on the OT, and my first solo hike of any length. I walked the Middle Fork section from the DD trailhead to Brushy Creek lodge, and it was beautiful weather. Surprised not to see more people out - you all missed a great weekend.
I left the DD trailhead at about 11 AM. Couldn't get down there earlier, unfortunately. Near the beginning of the walk I could hear an F15 overhead, and caught a few glimpses of it. He was doing some loops and rolls, as if he were training for a show or practicing evasive maneuvers. Not what I went in the woods to see, but pretty cool, nonetheless.
The trail is pleasant all the way, quite a few nice little creeks. Along this section it can be a ways between signs. There were a couple times where I might have wondered if I were still on the trail, except for how well-maintained it is. Most of the trail is shaded by woods, too, which is nice. There were a couple groups ahead of me, but never caught up to them enough to see them, just saw their shoe prints. Just before crossing the bridge at MF7, there was a little persimmon tree. A shake knocked a few off (if they drop from a shake, they're ripe), so I got to have a couple persimmons as a sweet treat on the trail. There were quite a few deer droppings along the trail, and they almost always had some persimmon seeds in them. Met Dan and Richard at the primitive camp there at MF7, and we chatted a bit. They saw a couple other groups on the trail.
I was planning to camp somewhere between MF8 and MF9, but there was about 2 hours of light left, so I pushed on, and ended up camping at the bottom of the hill by MF12. It was a little chilly down there, but I was warm enough to get some good sleep. This was my first night out after completing the net-tent part of my Ray-Way tarp. It's slippery sleeping on the net-tent floor, and I had just a slight incline, which meant a couple adjustments in the night.
Also new on this trip was my Cat Stove [url]http://coders-log.blogspot.com/2008/10/cat-stove.html[/url], which worked pretty well. I had a simple menu. For each meal, I had some multi-grain pasta, some pre-cooked Bob Evans breakfast sausage, and some cheddar cheese. Fuel up the stove, pour in a cup of water (that's up to my first knuckle). Get the water boiling, then add the pasta, put the meat and cheese on top, cover and cook. Tasty and provides some good energy for the trail.
Second day I started out at first light, and headed up the hill at first light, warming up quickly. Continued to see tracks from people ahead of me on the trail, but the only other people I met was a group of four on horseback going the other way. They had seen someone out who was on his ninth day on the trail.
I like Middle Fork Section. I did a hike with a friend on the Highway 21 to Devil's Tollgate section in August, and that was pretty dry and rocky, with some pretty aggressive climbing. A nice hike, don't get me wrong, but a lot more work. :) By contrast, Middle Fork is gravelly but not rocky, has plenty of water, and gentle grades throughout. The last climb before descending to Brushy Creek takes you up about 300 feet, but it's gentle enough that it's not a killer. I cooked and ate lunch at the bottom after crossing the creek, and that gave me enough energy to complete the hike.
Remember not to drink the water at Strother Creek. Check the map and fill up with water before getting there. It's not a terribly long stretch without water, but just in case.
This was also my first hike after trading in my New Balance trail running shoes for my Chaco Redrock shoes. I definitely like the Chacos. They're heavier, but don't show any deterioration after 25 miles on the trail, like the NBs did.
The hike ended at 2PM at Brushy Creek, which looks like a nice place. Friendly folks, and all that. Rested there and waited for my ride to pick me up. All in all, a very, very nice hike. I highly recommend this section as a starter hike, too. You can start at DD, and there's a trailhead at 12 miles, 20 miles, and 25, so you can bug out early if you get in over your head. There are also numerous gravel road crossings, if it comes down to that.
Also note that cell phone coverage is very sparse out there, so it's a tenuous life-line, if that's what you're counting on.
if you're on Facebook, see the pictures here:
http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=1295841432#/album.php?aid=10650&id=1295841432
I left the DD trailhead at about 11 AM. Couldn't get down there earlier, unfortunately. Near the beginning of the walk I could hear an F15 overhead, and caught a few glimpses of it. He was doing some loops and rolls, as if he were training for a show or practicing evasive maneuvers. Not what I went in the woods to see, but pretty cool, nonetheless.
The trail is pleasant all the way, quite a few nice little creeks. Along this section it can be a ways between signs. There were a couple times where I might have wondered if I were still on the trail, except for how well-maintained it is. Most of the trail is shaded by woods, too, which is nice. There were a couple groups ahead of me, but never caught up to them enough to see them, just saw their shoe prints. Just before crossing the bridge at MF7, there was a little persimmon tree. A shake knocked a few off (if they drop from a shake, they're ripe), so I got to have a couple persimmons as a sweet treat on the trail. There were quite a few deer droppings along the trail, and they almost always had some persimmon seeds in them. Met Dan and Richard at the primitive camp there at MF7, and we chatted a bit. They saw a couple other groups on the trail.
I was planning to camp somewhere between MF8 and MF9, but there was about 2 hours of light left, so I pushed on, and ended up camping at the bottom of the hill by MF12. It was a little chilly down there, but I was warm enough to get some good sleep. This was my first night out after completing the net-tent part of my Ray-Way tarp. It's slippery sleeping on the net-tent floor, and I had just a slight incline, which meant a couple adjustments in the night.
Also new on this trip was my Cat Stove [url]http://coders-log.blogspot.com/2008/10/cat-stove.html[/url], which worked pretty well. I had a simple menu. For each meal, I had some multi-grain pasta, some pre-cooked Bob Evans breakfast sausage, and some cheddar cheese. Fuel up the stove, pour in a cup of water (that's up to my first knuckle). Get the water boiling, then add the pasta, put the meat and cheese on top, cover and cook. Tasty and provides some good energy for the trail.
Second day I started out at first light, and headed up the hill at first light, warming up quickly. Continued to see tracks from people ahead of me on the trail, but the only other people I met was a group of four on horseback going the other way. They had seen someone out who was on his ninth day on the trail.
I like Middle Fork Section. I did a hike with a friend on the Highway 21 to Devil's Tollgate section in August, and that was pretty dry and rocky, with some pretty aggressive climbing. A nice hike, don't get me wrong, but a lot more work. :) By contrast, Middle Fork is gravelly but not rocky, has plenty of water, and gentle grades throughout. The last climb before descending to Brushy Creek takes you up about 300 feet, but it's gentle enough that it's not a killer. I cooked and ate lunch at the bottom after crossing the creek, and that gave me enough energy to complete the hike.
Remember not to drink the water at Strother Creek. Check the map and fill up with water before getting there. It's not a terribly long stretch without water, but just in case.
This was also my first hike after trading in my New Balance trail running shoes for my Chaco Redrock shoes. I definitely like the Chacos. They're heavier, but don't show any deterioration after 25 miles on the trail, like the NBs did.
The hike ended at 2PM at Brushy Creek, which looks like a nice place. Friendly folks, and all that. Rested there and waited for my ride to pick me up. All in all, a very, very nice hike. I highly recommend this section as a starter hike, too. You can start at DD, and there's a trailhead at 12 miles, 20 miles, and 25, so you can bug out early if you get in over your head. There are also numerous gravel road crossings, if it comes down to that.
Also note that cell phone coverage is very sparse out there, so it's a tenuous life-line, if that's what you're counting on.
if you're on Facebook, see the pictures here:
http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=1295841432#/album.php?aid=10650&id=1295841432
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Installing OpenCV on Fedora 8
I've just finished installing and documenting this process on our company blog: OpenCV on Fedora 8
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Favorite Projects Series, Installment 1
I've been spending quite a bit of time these days thinking about what exactly makes a software project a good project to be on. Ever since I became a computer geek in 1980 with the purchase of an Ohio Scientific C1P from Commsci Corporation in Manchester, MO,
I've loved working with new technology, and using new, cool stuff. There are a number of projects that have been great experiences from that perspective, and I'll get to those later. But there's one that I always talk about when I'm asked what are some of my favorite projects, and we should look at that one first, and what it was that made it one of those most memorable projects.
In 1994 I was still working at Washington University, and more specifically, was doing some work for the School of Arts and Sciences. The plan was that I would sit and work in the department instead of being at a desk in the IT department. I had been up there for a little while, and we would identify different things that needed addressing.
So it turned out that there was this task that Cindy N. was responsible for that had to be done every year. It had never been automated, so she was spending two-and-a-half weeks every year manually completing the task. She dreaded it for weeks ahead of time every year, and made an otherwise happy job for her become miserable for several weeks.
Every year, Cindy had to review prospective students' records online, evaluate for what student aid they were eligible, then type up a letter inviting them to apply and detailing this information. As you can imagine with all of the manual work involved, there were going to be mistakes, and that's part of what she agonized over.
So, applying the technology at the time, we wanted to assemble the information available from an IBM mainframe to produce all of the letters and mailing labels needed. With today's technology, that's quite easy, given how everything's networked together. Even then, it was NOT rocket science. I had learned C, and wanted apply it to the problem of massaging the data into CSV format. We had a mainframe running the CP/CMS timesharing system (an early implementation of virtualization, which is in common use today), and that machine was the only place where we could run a C program.
We had to copy data from one mainframe to the CP/CMS mainframe, and if I recall correctly, we loaded the data into a FOCUS database, then extracted it from there onto the CP/CMS system. The mainframe with the data was not directly accessible from the Windows PC where we would run the mail merge into Word, but the CP/CMS mainframe was.
In CP/CMS we ran a C program that would extract the data and produce a CSV-formatted file, which we then downloaded to the Windows PC.
On the Windows PC, we wrote a non-trivial Basic for Applications script that would choose the appropriate paragraphs to include for each letter, depending on what aid would be received, and apply it to that letter, along with supporting detail. We would run the script to produce a single, long document that could be visually verified for accuracy.
Cindy would run this process, verify the results, and print the letters. What had been a painstaking, error-prone (no fault of Cindy's) two-and-a-half week process became a one-and-a-half day process that produced much more accurate and timely results. What had been a miserable, dreaded, yearly task became just another simple task to be performed.
Not surprisingly, this changed everything for Cindy. Though not technically the most challenging project I've worked on, it is one of the most satisfying projects I've ever done. Why? Well, like many people that get into software development (or many other careers), I want to change the world, and change it for the better. Realistically, I probably won't do that, but I can change my little corner of the world, and this is one project where I did change my little corner for the better. I worked directly with a user, understood the need, met the need, and saw the benefit that I provided, one human being to another. In some small way, one person's life was better because of what I did, and I got to see it happen.
One of the core tenets of today's Agile development processes is continuous, daily, user interaction. I've seen this be effective from 1983 when my software development career began at Washington University with my first user, Neldeane P.
I've loved working with new technology, and using new, cool stuff. There are a number of projects that have been great experiences from that perspective, and I'll get to those later. But there's one that I always talk about when I'm asked what are some of my favorite projects, and we should look at that one first, and what it was that made it one of those most memorable projects.
In 1994 I was still working at Washington University, and more specifically, was doing some work for the School of Arts and Sciences. The plan was that I would sit and work in the department instead of being at a desk in the IT department. I had been up there for a little while, and we would identify different things that needed addressing.
So it turned out that there was this task that Cindy N. was responsible for that had to be done every year. It had never been automated, so she was spending two-and-a-half weeks every year manually completing the task. She dreaded it for weeks ahead of time every year, and made an otherwise happy job for her become miserable for several weeks.
Every year, Cindy had to review prospective students' records online, evaluate for what student aid they were eligible, then type up a letter inviting them to apply and detailing this information. As you can imagine with all of the manual work involved, there were going to be mistakes, and that's part of what she agonized over.
So, applying the technology at the time, we wanted to assemble the information available from an IBM mainframe to produce all of the letters and mailing labels needed. With today's technology, that's quite easy, given how everything's networked together. Even then, it was NOT rocket science. I had learned C, and wanted apply it to the problem of massaging the data into CSV format. We had a mainframe running the CP/CMS timesharing system (an early implementation of virtualization, which is in common use today), and that machine was the only place where we could run a C program.
We had to copy data from one mainframe to the CP/CMS mainframe, and if I recall correctly, we loaded the data into a FOCUS database, then extracted it from there onto the CP/CMS system. The mainframe with the data was not directly accessible from the Windows PC where we would run the mail merge into Word, but the CP/CMS mainframe was.
In CP/CMS we ran a C program that would extract the data and produce a CSV-formatted file, which we then downloaded to the Windows PC.
On the Windows PC, we wrote a non-trivial Basic for Applications script that would choose the appropriate paragraphs to include for each letter, depending on what aid would be received, and apply it to that letter, along with supporting detail. We would run the script to produce a single, long document that could be visually verified for accuracy.
Cindy would run this process, verify the results, and print the letters. What had been a painstaking, error-prone (no fault of Cindy's) two-and-a-half week process became a one-and-a-half day process that produced much more accurate and timely results. What had been a miserable, dreaded, yearly task became just another simple task to be performed.
Not surprisingly, this changed everything for Cindy. Though not technically the most challenging project I've worked on, it is one of the most satisfying projects I've ever done. Why? Well, like many people that get into software development (or many other careers), I want to change the world, and change it for the better. Realistically, I probably won't do that, but I can change my little corner of the world, and this is one project where I did change my little corner for the better. I worked directly with a user, understood the need, met the need, and saw the benefit that I provided, one human being to another. In some small way, one person's life was better because of what I did, and I got to see it happen.
One of the core tenets of today's Agile development processes is continuous, daily, user interaction. I've seen this be effective from 1983 when my software development career began at Washington University with my first user, Neldeane P.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Cat Stove
Okay, so for all of you out there that thought, "mmmmm, cat," shame on you. They're not that tasty. ;)
I think this guy is the inventor: THE CAT FOOD CAN ALCOHOL STOVE I read his instructions, but then read and followed these to make my stove: SGT Rock's Hiking H.Q. - Cat Stove.
The instructions were easy to follow, and an evening's work resulted in a new cat stove that fits nicely into my backpacking cook pot. My stove weighs 68.5 grams, which is about 2.4 ounces. I could potentially reduce that by trimming the hardware cloth, since its squares are 1/2 inch on a side, and probably 1 inch on a side would do the trick.
I think this guy is the inventor: THE CAT FOOD CAN ALCOHOL STOVE I read his instructions, but then read and followed these to make my stove: SGT Rock's Hiking H.Q. - Cat Stove.
The instructions were easy to follow, and an evening's work resulted in a new cat stove that fits nicely into my backpacking cook pot. My stove weighs 68.5 grams, which is about 2.4 ounces. I could potentially reduce that by trimming the hardware cloth, since its squares are 1/2 inch on a side, and probably 1 inch on a side would do the trick.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Chaco Shoes for Backpacking
So, now that I'm getting back into backpacking after a long hiatus - like, decades - I've been trying learn from Ray Jardine's practices and apply what works for me. I've already mentioned about making his Tarp and Net-Tent kits.
Another piece of advice from Ray is about footwear. There's probably no more important gear choice you can make than what to put on your feet. Ray recommends hiking in trail running shoes. I agree. On the other hand, I don't push it, because some people genuinely need ankle support. But if you switch to trail running shoes, there are some advantages. One, obviously, is weight. Trail shoes beat boots hands-down. Another is flexibility, and that's very important. Again, trail shoes beat boots. Another is support, and again, shoes beat boots. Another is shock absorption. Again, shoes over boots.
So, about weight. The weight on your feet is more important than the weight on your back. Why? I think it's because you're constantly accelerating and decelerating your feet. Any weight there takes more of an energy toll than the weight on your back, which maintains a relatively constant speed. I'm a big fan of New Balance shoes. I switched to them for daily use some years ago when I found that a pair would last me a couple years instead of one year, like many other brands. I also like to buy Made in the U.S.A when I can, so I can ride my high horse when my job gets outsourced. ;) New Balance gives me more of an opportunity to do that. New Balance shoes are available in 2E width, which I need.
Given that background, I went and bought a pair of MT908's. They're advertised at about 12 ounces, which is close to Ray's ideal maximum of 11 ounces. They're made in China, unfortunately. I wore them on several hike at a parks nearby that sports woods, hills, and trail loops where I can get a 3 to 6 mile hike in fairly easily. I then wore them on an overnighter, about 15 miles. Total mileage on the shoes was probably less than 100 miles. And guess what? The soles started falling apart. Follow the link and look at the picture of the soles. You'll see that there are different colors. All of those different colors are actually pieces that are glued on. Duh. What were they thinking? Those pieces were starting to fall off. I'm going to go to the New Balance store, expecting a fight when I try to return them.
But let me tell you this - New Balance understands customer service like NOBODY else does these days. I take the shoes back to the New Balance store, and the employee there says that this is unusual, and they haven't had that problem with this model. She asks if I would like a total refund, would I like to try a brand-new pair of the same shoe, or would I like to try a different model. So, I like the shoe, it's light and comfortable, so I try a new pair. No charge. I love those guys, and they have a customer for life.
Within seven miles, the new pair is falling apart. That's right, seven miles. Now, I'm not huge. I'm a little over six feet tall, about 195 pounds. Heavy, but the shoes should be able to handle it. Back to the New Balance store. This time, by luck of the draw, I'm talking to the store manager. Same level of customer service. This time, I opt for a full refund.
So, I was disappointed in the shoe. They're made in China, and honestly, they know that Americans today are not like the previous generation. Most of us (not me) are happy to buy crap, and pay good money for it, so they sell us shiny crap at high prices, and we say thank you. Having said this, New Balance customer service is Made in the U.S. of A., the old-fashioned way. I WILL go back to them, largely because of their customer service. New Balance, please make all of your shoes in America. Why not outsource to small towns like Steelville, Missouri? You can still save money over big city labor costs, and those small-town folks remember what quality is. I guarantee it.
So now, what to do for a shoe? I went to one store, and the guy tried to jam Nikes on my foot. Nikes only come in narrow and narrower, and I need a 2E. Moron. I went to another store, and found the Chaco's Men's Redrock.
Here's what's right with the Chacos. Firstly, never in my life have I had a shoe where the arch of the shoe comes up and nestles in the arch of my shoe. I never knew they were supposed to do that! The Chacos do. Wow, arch support. So that's what they meant by arch support. Oooooh.
Second, one-piece soles, stitched to the uppers. That's way shoes are supposed to be made. There's no gluing in shoes.
The soles are some percentage recycled rubber from tires. Good for the environment, and that's a plus. And they've got good lugs for grip on the trail.
Also, all the standard stuff. Reasonable cushioning. Not as good as the NBs, but good. That's good for my knees. Breathable uppers, so that they walk dry after going through a creek. I also moved the laces so that the eyes closest to my toes are not used. This gives me the nice, floppy, barefoot feel up front without losing the heel-hugging feel in the back. The shoe laces could be better, but I might swap out for some of New Balance's bubble laces, which are great.
Okay, now the bad news. First, they're made in China. Not a show-stopper, but I'd like to keep shoe jobs here so that when someone's buying software development, my job stays here. Next, the weight. Chaco doesn't advertise the weight.I wear a men's size 9 in 2E width. My right shoe weighs 463.1 grams, or about 16.34 ounces. The left one weighs 472.2 grams, or about 16.7 ounces. Too heavy to be ideal for backpacking. They are noticeably heavier than the New Balance 908s. Finally, when I asked about the return policy, it's not as generous as NB's. They'd deduct from the refund for wear-and-tear.
The Chacos are for me, at least for the time being. Chaco, here's what I have to say to you. First, open a plant in Steelville, Missouri. Can you tell I love the place? It's not my home town, but it has a special place in my heart, for a variety of reasons. Chaco, if you build a plant there, you will be able to make shoes cheaper than in Colorado. Not as cheap as China perhaps, but it keeps jobs here in the U.S. Second, see if you can make a shoe that's just right for ultralight backpackers. Take the Redrock, reduce the weight by five to six ounces, if possible, while keeping as much ruggedness as possible. And third, think about your return policy. If you're making a quality shoe, and you are in the Redrock, then you can be more generous. See if you can match NB's policy.
Conclusion: I'm going to wear the Chacos for now, because they're the best shoe I've found so far.
Another piece of advice from Ray is about footwear. There's probably no more important gear choice you can make than what to put on your feet. Ray recommends hiking in trail running shoes. I agree. On the other hand, I don't push it, because some people genuinely need ankle support. But if you switch to trail running shoes, there are some advantages. One, obviously, is weight. Trail shoes beat boots hands-down. Another is flexibility, and that's very important. Again, trail shoes beat boots. Another is support, and again, shoes beat boots. Another is shock absorption. Again, shoes over boots.
So, about weight. The weight on your feet is more important than the weight on your back. Why? I think it's because you're constantly accelerating and decelerating your feet. Any weight there takes more of an energy toll than the weight on your back, which maintains a relatively constant speed. I'm a big fan of New Balance shoes. I switched to them for daily use some years ago when I found that a pair would last me a couple years instead of one year, like many other brands. I also like to buy Made in the U.S.A when I can, so I can ride my high horse when my job gets outsourced. ;) New Balance gives me more of an opportunity to do that. New Balance shoes are available in 2E width, which I need.
Given that background, I went and bought a pair of MT908's. They're advertised at about 12 ounces, which is close to Ray's ideal maximum of 11 ounces. They're made in China, unfortunately. I wore them on several hike at a parks nearby that sports woods, hills, and trail loops where I can get a 3 to 6 mile hike in fairly easily. I then wore them on an overnighter, about 15 miles. Total mileage on the shoes was probably less than 100 miles. And guess what? The soles started falling apart. Follow the link and look at the picture of the soles. You'll see that there are different colors. All of those different colors are actually pieces that are glued on. Duh. What were they thinking? Those pieces were starting to fall off. I'm going to go to the New Balance store, expecting a fight when I try to return them.
But let me tell you this - New Balance understands customer service like NOBODY else does these days. I take the shoes back to the New Balance store, and the employee there says that this is unusual, and they haven't had that problem with this model. She asks if I would like a total refund, would I like to try a brand-new pair of the same shoe, or would I like to try a different model. So, I like the shoe, it's light and comfortable, so I try a new pair. No charge. I love those guys, and they have a customer for life.
Within seven miles, the new pair is falling apart. That's right, seven miles. Now, I'm not huge. I'm a little over six feet tall, about 195 pounds. Heavy, but the shoes should be able to handle it. Back to the New Balance store. This time, by luck of the draw, I'm talking to the store manager. Same level of customer service. This time, I opt for a full refund.
So, I was disappointed in the shoe. They're made in China, and honestly, they know that Americans today are not like the previous generation. Most of us (not me) are happy to buy crap, and pay good money for it, so they sell us shiny crap at high prices, and we say thank you. Having said this, New Balance customer service is Made in the U.S. of A., the old-fashioned way. I WILL go back to them, largely because of their customer service. New Balance, please make all of your shoes in America. Why not outsource to small towns like Steelville, Missouri? You can still save money over big city labor costs, and those small-town folks remember what quality is. I guarantee it.
So now, what to do for a shoe? I went to one store, and the guy tried to jam Nikes on my foot. Nikes only come in narrow and narrower, and I need a 2E. Moron. I went to another store, and found the Chaco's Men's Redrock.
Here's what's right with the Chacos. Firstly, never in my life have I had a shoe where the arch of the shoe comes up and nestles in the arch of my shoe. I never knew they were supposed to do that! The Chacos do. Wow, arch support. So that's what they meant by arch support. Oooooh.
Second, one-piece soles, stitched to the uppers. That's way shoes are supposed to be made. There's no gluing in shoes.
The soles are some percentage recycled rubber from tires. Good for the environment, and that's a plus. And they've got good lugs for grip on the trail.
Also, all the standard stuff. Reasonable cushioning. Not as good as the NBs, but good. That's good for my knees. Breathable uppers, so that they walk dry after going through a creek. I also moved the laces so that the eyes closest to my toes are not used. This gives me the nice, floppy, barefoot feel up front without losing the heel-hugging feel in the back. The shoe laces could be better, but I might swap out for some of New Balance's bubble laces, which are great.
Okay, now the bad news. First, they're made in China. Not a show-stopper, but I'd like to keep shoe jobs here so that when someone's buying software development, my job stays here. Next, the weight. Chaco doesn't advertise the weight.I wear a men's size 9 in 2E width. My right shoe weighs 463.1 grams, or about 16.34 ounces. The left one weighs 472.2 grams, or about 16.7 ounces. Too heavy to be ideal for backpacking. They are noticeably heavier than the New Balance 908s. Finally, when I asked about the return policy, it's not as generous as NB's. They'd deduct from the refund for wear-and-tear.
The Chacos are for me, at least for the time being. Chaco, here's what I have to say to you. First, open a plant in Steelville, Missouri. Can you tell I love the place? It's not my home town, but it has a special place in my heart, for a variety of reasons. Chaco, if you build a plant there, you will be able to make shoes cheaper than in Colorado. Not as cheap as China perhaps, but it keeps jobs here in the U.S. Second, see if you can make a shoe that's just right for ultralight backpackers. Take the Redrock, reduce the weight by five to six ounces, if possible, while keeping as much ruggedness as possible. And third, think about your return policy. If you're making a quality shoe, and you are in the Redrock, then you can be more generous. See if you can match NB's policy.
Conclusion: I'm going to wear the Chacos for now, because they're the best shoe I've found so far.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Completing the Ray-Way Tarp and Net-Tent
Well, it's taken us a while, but my Ray-Way Tarp and Net-Tent are now complete, having finished the Net-Tent tonight. My wife Dot did the lion's share of the work - it's a fair bit of sewing, to be sure. It's really been a labor of LOVE on her part, too - she doesn't backpack.
So, every good ultra light backpacker (which I am not, but let's pretend) will want to know the weight. When I weighed the tarp before, I mis-weighed it by counting my 200 gram weights as 100 grams. Oops! Anyway, here are the correct figures.
Also consider that with the Net-Tent completed, I no longer need the ground cloth, since the Net-Tent does double-duty, and that saves me 114.1 grams, or 4 ounces.
I added about 10 grams to the weight of the tent by swapping out all the brown flatlines for white cord. Why? Because I found that I absolutely cannot untie the broun flatline when wet.
So, every good ultra light backpacker (which I am not, but let's pretend) will want to know the weight. When I weighed the tarp before, I mis-weighed it by counting my 200 gram weights as 100 grams. Oops! Anyway, here are the correct figures.
| Component | Advertised weight | My weight |
|---|---|---|
| Two-person tarp | 16.76 ounces (before sealing) | 17.84 ounces (505.8 grams) |
| 8 Stakes | 2.87 ounces (81.5 grams) | |
| Net-Tent | about 12 ounces | 13.85 ounces (392.5 grams) |
| TOTAL | 34.56 ounces (979.8 grams) |
Also consider that with the Net-Tent completed, I no longer need the ground cloth, since the Net-Tent does double-duty, and that saves me 114.1 grams, or 4 ounces.
I added about 10 grams to the weight of the tent by swapping out all the brown flatlines for white cord. Why? Because I found that I absolutely cannot untie the broun flatline when wet.
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