Is it an iPad? Maybe a Xoom? NO, it’s a ViewSonic GTablet!

April 10, 2011

Over the past year or so, I have had considerable pressure to enter the Tablet market. Some is peer-induced, which I covered in my first iPad post, and some is self-induced, borne of the realization that we need a backup eReader to supplement the Kindle.

As I review my original iPad post and the use cases I proposed, I have the following updates:

Media-rich newspapers: Nothing has changed here. I still don’t make time for a national newspaper, and as far as I know, the local rag (Press-Democrat) hasn’t adopted the format.

Media-rich magazines: As it turns out, at least one of the niche magazines that comes to our house, Clean Run, has made a significant effort to delve into the digital world. They now have a digital edition which is available through any web browser, and their digital publisher has already launched an iPad app (can an Android app be far behind?). Hmm, this is getting more interesting.

Watching videos. This is still my most compelling use case, even with the streaming constraints of the cellular networks and the input constraints of the iPad. I have already ripped my dog-training DVDs so I can watch them on my iPod Nano and Blackberry. It goes without saying that the tablets beat the handhelds in screen size, plus they bring a 10-hour battery life which is unapproachable in the laptop world. Now it’s starting to get really interesting.

Kindle backup. Yep, we need something. I concluded in my Kindle update that the Blackberry Kindle Reader is quite adequate in a pinch but not suited for long reading sessions. And I can’t quite justify a second Kindle when weighed against the added value and features of the tablets.

Fortunately, the tablet market has evolved along with my needs and the iPad is no longer the only option. Google’s Android operating system, which has been so successful in the smartphone market, has been extended to tablets and several manufacturers have already responded. And HP, which bought Palm and rebranded it as webOS, has also announced a new tablet offering (although it may be too little too late). This changes everything in terms of tablet decisions. In some ways it’s easier (I’m not forced to drink the Apple iBorg kool-aid), but the added options also add to the complexity of the decision (Android vs. HP WebOS, WiFi-only vs 3G/4G, AT&T/Verizon/Sprint).

Based on the growth of the Android app market and the openness of the operating system (in contrast to the iBorg), I had already concluded that Android would be my platform of choice. I was well on my way down the path of the Motorola Xoom when I encountered two significant stumbling blocks:

  1. The $800 3G version is only available on Verizon, and the only way to buy it at the discounted price of $600 is to commit to a 2-year plan at a minimum of $20/month. Total cost: $1,280 plus tax and accessories. HUH??? I don’t think so.
  2. The WiFi-only version hasn’t been released yet and is expected to be priced at $600, not exactly a dip-your-toes-into-the-tablet-world price.

During my struggle with all of this data, my good friend Jason just happened to notice the Woot of the day at woot.com, a ViewSonic GTablet (Android-based, wi-fi only) for $280. Those of you with Woot experience know that the good stuff sells out quickly. But it was enough money that I wasn’t ready to push the button without doing a little more research. During the course of the day I was able to determine the following key pieces of information about this particular device:

  1. It is listed on Amazon for about $340 so the Woot price was righteous. It is now available on other sites for $310, but still, $280 was a darned good price.
  2. The hardware specs kick some serious butt
  3. The user interface (UI) provided by ViewSonic sucks (it’s called Tap ‘n Tap – seriously?)
  4. Because of the aforementioned openness of the Android operating system, #3 was easily overcome (OK, you have to be a bit of a geek…)
  5. Everything required to deal with #4 is (a) free, (b) well-documented on youtube and various forums, and (c) well-understood by Jason (who has been hacking his Droid phone for months)

By the time I had concluded that this Woot deal was a financially feasible way for me to experiment with both a tablet and the Android OS, I was sure that the opportunity would have been lost. NOT SO! I clicked “I Want One” and here I am, the proud new owner of an Android Wi-Fi Tablet!

I have now rooted it and replaced the ROM. Or for those of you who don’t speak geek, I have taken over the hardware and replaced the stock Tap ‘n Tap interface and in doing so, effectively voided the warranty – a leap of faith not for the faint of heart. But the result is a kick-ass tablet that I’m thrilled to have in my arsenal.

My videos are awesome, the web browsing experience is fantastic, the Google app store is great and the Amazon app store is even better, and it is much better than my Blackberry for reading Kindle books. Even so, I will reiterate that the Kindle (with its eInk technology) will continue to thrive – LCDs (including this one) are terrible in natural light.

There is a dark side to my decision – this thing came with Angry Birds. I had been SO determined to ignore and avoid it, if only to justify my reverse iPhone snobbery. But there it was … I was only going to try it once …  really … CRAP!!!!!!

Hi, my name is Holly and I’m an Angry-Bird-aholic.

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Posted by agilepooch

Kindle Update – one year later

March 23, 2011

When I bought my Kindle last January, I published my initial impressions in Kindling a New Reading Option. Now that I’ve had it for over a year, I thought I’d take a look back at how the Kindle has met (and in most cases, exceeded) our needs. Here is a review of my original goals:

  1. Did the Kindle handle my primary use case? Yes. My original motivation for buying it was to eliminate hauling a 30-lb box of books up to the cabin during my multi-week summer jaunts. The Kindle provided 10-oz alternative with a 2-week battery life. It also offered car-charging and free 3G downloads of new material when I headed down the mountain to do laundry at Tahoe. Two Thumbs Up.
  2. Can two people share one Kindle? Maybe not everybody, but we certainly can. And that is enhanced by the free Kindle apps that are available on other platforms. If the Kindle is not available for whatever reason (Rich has it, the battery’s dead, I don’t know where it is at the moment), the reading experience on my Blackberry Torch is quite adequate. And because of the Sync to Furthest Page feature, the transition from device to device is seamless. Love It.

But wait, there’s more. As I have embraced the Kindle and explored the Kindle world, I have uncovered some features and resources that are worth sharing.

Free Sample Chapters

Perhaps the most under-appreciated feature of the Kindle store is the Free Sample Chapter link, which is available with a single-click for most of the offerings in the store. What makes this feature so great?

  • If you have read several print books by a favorite author, you might not remember which ones by the Title alone. By reviewing a Sample Chapter, you can quickly recognize if you have already read the book before you make a costly mistake and buy it again.
  • If a friend has recommended a new book or author, or you happen upon something vaguely interesting in the Amazon Recommendations, you can test them out and make your own choice with no financial commitment.
  • If you are browsing the book store, you can use Sample Chapters as a Wish List / bookmark / reminder for future purchases.

Although the Sample Chapter is a great feature, it is not without flaws and does have some room for improvement:

  • If you are reading a Sample Chapter and decide to buy the book, there is no correlation between the two. In other words, it doesn’t keep track of how far I got and sync that up with the actual book when I buy it. It should.
  • The Buy Now option at the end of the Sample Chapter is instantaneous – it doesn’t show the price (which might be more than you wanted to pay) or provide for confirmation. There is a workaround however – use Go to Store instead of Buy Now.
  • If you buy the book, the Sample Chapter is left as a turd on the device. It should be smarter than that and delete the Sample when the book is purchased and downloaded.

Redefining Publishing

One of the most exciting things about the Kindle framework is that it gives new authors a way to get published and recognized. Traditional publishing is expensive and represents a significant investment for the publishing houses – they aren’t willing to take chances on unknown authors. Publishing on Kindle provides a free and very interesting alternative, with the following features for the consumers:

  • Many books under $2 (and even free)
  • Instant ratings and comments provide feedback so we can easily tell if they suck or not
  • Even established authors and publishing houses are offering free and cheap books to hook you (e.g. I got the first two Stieg Larsson books for $5 each, but I’ll probably pay full price for the third…)

Again, there is a downside – many books are being published without benefit of professional editing, which can have disastrous results. But that is why the ratings are so important.

So, how do you find out about these low-price offers? I subscribed to the iReader Review blog and over the course of the past few weeks, have filled my Kindle with free and cheap books. Not all of the emails are interesting, but it’s worth it to have someone else do the work of finding the deals.

What’s Next?

Since Rich and I have both embraced the Kindle, I was exploring the option of buying another eReader (the Kindle3 has some tempting new features). I quickly concluded that the better solution is to supplement it with some sort of Tablet. The Kindle is as close to perfect as an eReader can be, but that is really all it is. It doesn’t make sense to have two when a Tablet would more than suffice as a backup eReader and do so much more.

So, which Tablet to get? That will be the subject of my next entry….

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Posted by agilepooch

Splenic Tumors in Dogs – a Lay Person’s View

February 24, 2011

Bad things happen in the spleens of dogs. I don’t know why, I just know they do.

Medically speaking, canine splenic masses typically start as unremarkable “nodules”. From there, they often transform into one of two types of masses: hemangioma (a benign tumor) and hemangiosarcoma (a malignant cancer). Other types of masses also occur but these two are the most common. Unfortunately, because the spleen is a vascular organ, even the benign ones often have tragic results.

In my experience (and that of many dear friends), splenic masses result in one of the following three outcomes, often without diagnosis or warning:

  1. They rupture and the dogs bleed to death
  2. They metastasize and the dogs die of cancer in other organs (lungs, brain)
  3. They get discovered by pure dumb luck and are dealt with surgically before #1 or #2 can occur

Scenarios #1 and #2 are tragic and I have far too many friends who have experienced one or the other. To protect the feelings of those who have suffered these tragedies, I will not name them. But I will give the following first-hand examples of #3 (with permission) – all three of these dogs were diagnosed accidentally as a result of unrelated events:

  1. Jasmine, my own 13-yr-old, had a frightening vestibular event (i.e. doggy vertigo) a few weeks ago. I have since learned that this is a rather common idiopathic condition in older dogs, but the neurologist that examined her determined that she wasn’t “classically vestibular”. In pursuing a differential diagnosis, an abdominal ultrasound was performed revealing a large abdominal mass. Urgent exploratory surgery resulted in the excision of a “fully-encapsulated splenic mass with no evidence of other organ involvement.” Final pathology results are still pending, but the preliminary assumption is that the surgery was curative. There is additional background to this story as you’ll see below.
  2. My friend Sarah, who specializes in canine rehab and massage, was routinely massaging her 14-yr-old Cruiser one night and felt a bulge under her rib cage. This lump was only apparent to sensitive hands and only when the dog was on her back. On examination, her doctor couldn’t even feel it but abdominal ultrasound revealed a splenic tumor which was then surgically excised. The dog lived another great year and eventually succumbed to complications of unrelated kidney failure.
  3. Just last week, my friend Liza’s 7-yr-old Taiko had an intestinal obstruction that required emergency surgery. While his belly was open, the surgeon observed a nodule on the spleen and elected to perform a splenectomy. Pathology report on the lesion suggested that it would have likely transformed into a splenic tumor (probably hemangioma) had it gone undetected.

Here’s a little more background on Jasmine’s story: in April of 2008, she spent a couple of days at Davis for a bout of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE). During her stay she had an abdominal ultrasound. They found nothing to explain the HGE, but did note some other abnormalities: a cyst on the liver and two nodules on the spleen. We were advised to follow up with another ultrasound in about a year. So we did. A scheduled ultrasound in June 2009 reported that the liver cyst was unchanged and the two splenic nodules were nowhere to be found. Excellent news, or so we thought. Not long after that I began having theoretical discussions with friends about the merit of routine ultrasounds, but we didn’t bother to do another one in the summer of 2010. Fast-forward to February 2011 and the crisis described above.

I found a terrific article that explains in much more detail what I’m talking about: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_splenic_masses.html. The most telling quote for me in this article is this: “[If the dog has a splenic mass and you choose not to remove the spleen], eventually the dog will have a bleed from which he cannot recover.”

So what’s my point? Dogs die from splenic masses, often unnecessarily. It doesn’t matter whether they are malignant or benign. Sure, malignant masses affect other organs and the dog will eventually die anyway. But benign doesn’t mean harmless, it just means non-cancerous – benign tumors can still grow like crazy and rupture. In fact, I learned a parodoxical reality: the larger the splenic mass, the more likely it is benign because the dogs don’t survive the malignant ones long enough for them to grow large. Regardless of size or type, ALL splenic masses have the potential to rupture and cause death from hemorrhage. They are ticking time bombs, pure and simple. Isn’t it time we acknowledge this fact and start preemptively screening for the problem?

Lessons learned:

  1. Splenic nodules do not just disappear. I don’t know where Jasmine’s were in June 2009, but I’m sure now that they were lurking somewhere.
  2. Splenic nodules transform, and nothing good comes from that transformation. Even if they transform into benign masses, they can still rupture and cause catastrophic hemorrhage.
  3. If at all financially-feasible, we should consider doing annual diagnostic ultrasounds on our aging dogs to avoid these tragedies. They are non-invasive and require only a mild sedative (if even that).

I have a mammogram every year, and I’m going to do my best to ensure that my older dogs get the same consideration.

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Posted by agilepooch

“Art of the Accompanist”, a book by Mike Greensill

February 6, 2011

My father, Frank C. Newman, was an amateur accompanist for most of his life. He used his talent on the piano to support himself through college, arrange and accompany dozens of Boalt Hall faculty skits, and host boisterous Christmas sings at our family home in Orinda.

As a result of some crazy twists of fate and circumstance in the late ’70s, my mother became friends with Wesla Whitfield, who is widely-acclaimed as one of the great cabaret singers of our time and master of the Great American Songbook. Through her performances, my father found himself mesmerized by her accomplished accompanist, Mike Greensill. The friendship between the four of them grew (and eventually extended to me as well), and in 1986, my father had the honor of officiating their marriage ceremony. (As an aside, I think that performing weddings for friends and family, including my own, was his favorite legacy of his time as a judge.)

My father often said that Mike was the best arranger and accompanist he had ever encountered, with an uncanny sense of subtlety, timing, and intuitiveness. The world seems to agree, because the Mike Greensill Trio (both with and without Wesla on stage) is an established presence on not only the local jazz scene, but in New York as well. In addition, Mike is the resident piano player on Sedge Thomson’s weekly Public Radio show to the world, West Coast Live.

Art of the AccompanistMike’s latest ambition is to share the tricks of his trade with the music world by writing a book – “Art of the Accompanist”, subtitled “A Practical Guide for the Jazz / Cabaret Piano Player.” Though I love music and played a little when I was younger, I am not the target audience so I didn’t think it would be of much interest to me. But because of my father’s connection and my friendship with Mike, I explored a little further.

He has published the first chapter on-line as a sample so I read it. It is terrific. Far from being just a “how-to” book for students, it’s a primer in music appreciation for fans. His engaging personality shines through in his writing, and he includes anecdotes and quotes from legendary performers which adds a delightful a touch of music history. He has managed to express (in very readable prose) some of the practical theory behind the nuance that so impressed my father. You needn’t be an accompanist to enjoy this book, although I concede that it might not be quite as readable without some music background.

The book will be published both in hard copy and digital formats. As illustrated in the sample, Mike is taking full advantage of digital enhancements by including recorded examples with associated images. This technology adds a richness that is simply amazing.

The book is self-funded, which means that there is no big publishing house fronting the costs. Mike is taking time away from his performing schedule to pour his energy into this project. As such, he is reaching out to backers to help support the project, using Kickstarter, a unique online funding platform for the creative arts.

I encourage you to take a moment to read the sample chapter and review the proposal and videos on his Kickstarter page. My father would have loved this book and I will be contributing to this project in his honor. I hope you can too. Either way, I will update this post when the book is actually published.

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Rubberized Contacts: 7. Final Thoughts (maybe)

August 1, 2010

When I wrote my last post on this topic, Rubberized Contacts: 6. Revised Calculations and Wrap-Up, I thought I was done with this blog series. But no, it turns out I have more to say. Here are some random things I’ve come up with recently, which may evolve into a more formal “Part 8: FAQ”.

How can I avoid the one-time expense for things like the postal scale and the trowel?

I’m glad you asked. With the blessing of The Bay Team Board, I have assembled a “Rubberizing Loaner Kit”, complete with a reference binder full of instructions and tips. As soon as we have finished up the SMART and Bay Team equipment, this will be made available on a limited basis to members. I will be the Program Administrator, and the kit will stay around until it is no longer (a) in demand or (b) usable, whichever comes first. We have not discussed any budget for sustaining this program if the equipment becomes unusable or is lost.

How much contact cement do I really need?

A lot. And as I have previously mentioned, only the Original (red label) stuff will do – stay far far away from the non-flammable (green label) crap. As an aside, Home Depot only carries small cans of the good stuff, not gallons – you have to go to True Value or OSH or Lowes to get gallons.

OK, I admit that “a lot” isn’t really a very helpful answer. So I did some rough calculations based on even rougher estimates and came up with some numbers. Your mileage may vary, but least this will give you a starting point.

  • Table (top only): 21 oz (2/3 qt)
  • A-frame: 128 oz (1 gal)
  • Dogwalk: 85 oz (2/3 gal)
  • Teeter: 28 oz (almost a quart)
  • Chute pad (small): 11 oz (1/3 qt)
  • Chute pad (large: 13 oz (not quite 1/2 qt)

If you read Part 6 (referenced above), you already know that contact cement costs over $35/gal. Based on these calculations, if you’re doing a full set of equipment, you’re looking at well over 2 gallons of cement. Now I’ll admit that I was doing my gluing in the sun, so I probably used more than I might have in cooler conditions. On the other hand, my a-frame is aluminum, which means it didn’t absorb the cement the way plywood would have. So there is probably quite a lot of variability, but at this will give you an idea so you can be prepared.

Brushes vs Rollers?

I previously posted that though the book recommends 2″ brushes, I thought they were a waste of time and suggested at least 3″ and preferably 4″ brushes. I now must confess that I didn’t fully read the supplemental material that Darlene included with the kits. Had I done that, I would have noticed that she updated her recommendation to a 6″ foam roller. Sure wish I had seen that earlier.

How many people does it take to glue the skins on the contacts?

The table can easily be done by one person if you use the technique in the book – clamping in the middle, folding half back, applying cement, roll into position. Then just do the other half the same way. There is one thing I didn’t see mentioned in the book – be sure to put a piece of plastic or paper between the two layers when it is folded back – you don’t want to accidentally get contact cement on the finished contact surface.

I used a similar technique for the blue end of the a-frame and it worked fine. However, I tried to do the yellow side / match-up by myself and that was a mistake. I think that takes two people.

I haven’t done a teeter or dogwalk yet, so I can’t yet speak to the requirements for the longer pieces.

Have any of the formulas or measurements changed since the book was published?

Yes. Darlene has changed her formula for the table mats (and I assume the chute mats). In addition, she is providing a kit for a larger chute mat than what is published in the book. Here are the corrections to the book based on these changes.

Table and Chute, page 29

This chart replaces the last two sections of the original chart and reflects two key changes:

  • New formula for the table tops
  • Additional measurements for a larger chute mat, not included in the book
Obstacle Sq Ft Rubber Granules Binder ** Acetone
Table (if you include the sides, all pieces are made from a 45” square)
Top with sides (4”x36”) 14 sq ft 18 lbs (approx 1.28 lbs/sq ft) 3 lbs 10 oz None
Top only (36”x36”) 9.5 sq ft 12.2 lbs 2 lbs 7 oz None
Chute (30” long barrel)
Barrel mat: 24” x 27” 4.5 sq ft 5 lbs 13 oz (approx 1.28 lbs/sq ft) 1 lb 3 oz None
Barrel mat: 36” x 27” 6.75 sq ft 8 lbs 12 oz 1 lb 12 oz None
Chute rim: 6” x 78” 3.3 sq ft 3 lbs 11 oz 12 oz None

Table and Chute, pages 22-23

This chart reflects two key additions to the diagrams on these pages:

  • New sizing for table top alone (no sides)
  • Additional measurements for a larger chute mat, not included in the book\

Note: I haven’t even begun to try rebuilding the nested taping job with these options – you’re on your own for that.

Item Tape Plastic
Table Top without sides (36” x 36”) 37” x 37” 40” x 40”
Chute Barrel Mat (36” x 27”) 36” x 27” 39” x 30”

Conclusion

If you have any other questions about this process, please let me know and I’ll develop this list into a more serious FAQ.

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Posted by agilepooch

Adventures of a Silver Spoon

July 11, 2010

The story of the Silver Spoon is the stuff of family legend, a saga spanning two generations and two significant wars. I had almost forgotten about this chapter of my family’s history, until Wendy Vogelgesang, current caretaker of my family home in Orinda, unearthed the evidence in a bedroom closet. She photographed the spoon and the supporting documents – which include a letter written by my maternal grandfather and a rubbing of the spoon itself with explanatory notes.

Here, for your historical viewing pleasure, is the whole story.

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Posted by agilepooch

Finally, a motorcycle just for me

July 10, 2010

If you read my previous post (Motorcycles and Me: Historical Perspective), you know that after struggling with bikes that weren’t quite suited to my riding style/ability, I have found myself with unprecedented freedom from both family responsibilities and well-intentioned but misguided marital pressure, and now I can finally open myself to the right choice.

Kawasaki Ninja 250R

Coincidentally, Kawasaki introduced their 4th Generation 250 Ninja in 2008, the same year I was actually able to consider riding again. The reviews were phenomenal. 250? Really? I had never ridden anything smaller than a 700 (if you don’t count the Suzuki DR350 dual-purpose bike I owned for a while).

Kawasaki ER-6N

Off we went to the San Mateo bike show in Nov 2008 – my sole agenda was to investigate this bike. I sat on it, I loved how it felt. But I also discovered the ER-6N. Huh? A 650 UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) with about the same seat height as my beloved (on paper) 250? I wasn’t expecting that. This, too, had real potential to be the perfect bike. But no decision was forthcoming – too many other priorities.

We went back to the San Mateo bike show in Nov 2009. Same bikes (plus a couple of Suzuki options) – still no decision, wasn’t ready yet.

Then, in July 2010, the recession hit the bike shops for real and the sale prices started appearing. The dealer mark-up I had previously seen on the tremendously-popular 250 Ninja began to disappear. And then, there it was: my local dealer was advertising sale prices on both the 250 Ninja and the ER-6N. Time to pounce.

We showed up on Saturday morning. I announced that I would be buying one or the other, and that I intended to test drive both: the 250 to see if I could stand it on the freeway, and the 650 to see if I could stand it on city streets. Those of you who have never bought a new motorcycle may not realize that test drives aren’t assumed the way they are with cars – dealers tend to have special “Test Ride Days” and don’t usually offer them routinely. But I was armed with my M-1 license, my motorcycle insurance card, and suitable helmet/jacket/gloves. Given the economy, and the fact that I was prepared to write a check, I was not to be denied.

I rode both bikes twice. The 650 was pretty good, the 250 was nearly perfect. What the 250 lacked in power and freeway oomph, it made up for in nimbleness and immediate comfort zone. The 650 was everything I had ever had in a bike before – not terrible, but disconcertingly too much. Been there, done that. I don’t tour anymore, I don’t ride long distances anymore, and I don’t do the Sunday Morning Ride anymore. I spent about an hour trying to convince myself that the 650 was OK and failed.

2010 Ninja 250R Special Edition

Bonus, the 250 was the Special Edition – with a $200 graphics option. At first, I didn’t like it, but it quickly grew on me. Decision made – the 250 is mine!

Next up: Farkles for the Ninjette!!!

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Posted by agilepooch

Rubberized Contacts: 6. Revised Calculations and Wrap-Up

July 10, 2010

If you’ve been keeping up, you know that this is the sixth (and perhaps final) installment in my series on Rubberizing Agility Contacts. I have stuck (no pun intended) strictly with the Rubber on the Run process developed by Darlene Woz, as documented in the book “Making Rubber Skins for Agility Equipment“. The Bay Team and SMART equipment committees collaborated on this effort, since we share so much equipment at our Prunedale trials.

Tables

The joint equipment committees decided that the protective and aesthetic benefits of the table sides did not warrant the extra weight (which we calculated at 7 lbs per table). Furthermore, we learned that Darlene has changed her table formations since the book was published. Based on this information, here are the revised calculations for what is published in the book:

Description Published
(with sides)		 Revised
(with sides)		 Revised
(without sides)
Tape outline 45″ x 45″ 45″ x 45″ 37″ x 37″
Plastic sheet 48″ x 48″ 48″ x 48″ 40″ x 40″
Rubber pellets 22 lb 18 lb 12 lb 3 oz
Binder 4 lb 6 oz 3 lb 10 oz 2 lb 7 oz
Total Wt Add 26 lb 6 oz 21 lb 10 oz 14 lb 10 oz

Chute Rims

The committees further determined that, though the rim of the chute should be padded for protection, it should not have traction. Rather it should be “slippery” and not involve a surface that would catch the coats of larger dogs. Thus, we decided not to fabricate rubberized rims for the chute, and instead adopted what SMART had already implemented on one chute – a “pool noodle”, slit vertically with an electric carving knife, and affixed to the top half of the chute with Zip-Ties (photo to come, I promise).

Chute Mats

The kits we bought were for 36″ x 27″ chute mats (to comply with CPE standards), but the book only shows the measurements for 24″ x 27″ mats (as required by USDAA). We determined that Darlene’s revised formulations for the table mats also applied to the chute mats. Thus we had to completely recalculate the measurements for the large chute mats, and here are the results:

Description Small chute mat
(as published)		 Small chute mat
(revised)		 Large chute mat
(unpublished)
Tape outline 24″ x 27″ 24″ x 27″ 36″ x 27″
Plastic sheet 27″ x 30″ 27″ x 30″ 39″ x 30″”
Rubber pellets 7 lb 5 lb 13 oz 8 lb 12 oz
Binder 1 lb 7 oz 1 lb 3 oz 1 lb 12 oz
Total Wt Add 8 lb 8 oz 7 lb 10 lb 8 oz

I encourage you to print this page and insert it as Errata on pages 21-23 and 28-29 of the book, for both the tables and the chute.

Net results of our efforts

I mentioned earlier that despite purchasing only 6 chute kits and 8 table kits, we managed to produce 7 chute mats and 12 table skins because of design changes. Now you know how: we eliminated the table sides and chute rims, carefully recalculated and reweighed the rubber and binder (which was way too much fun, as Katrina and Karey demonstrate), implemented mass production tactics, and just kept forming skins until we ran out of rubber. We combined pellets at the end, which gave us a custom purple/yellow chute mat to sell (2nd up from lower left) and the coveted “confetti” table mat (mid-left), which Katrina happily claimed as her own!

Conclusions

Northern California agility is a better place for our efforts. The tables and chutes made their debut at the July 4 Bay Team trial last weekend. I wasn’t there, but as I understand the feedback, the deafening silence of the dogs jumping onto the tables speaks for itself.

The next phase of the operation, affixing pre-made skins onto the Bay Team and SMART contact equipment (A-frames, dogwalks and teeters), will take place in the South Bay over the next few weeks. The plan is to have all of the equipment upgraded in time for the August and September trials, including the Southwest USDAA Regional on Labor Day weekend.

Acknowledgments

To Karey Krauter, Kate Wheelock and Katrina Parkinson (aka “The 3 K’s”), who gave up an entire Saturday to wallow in the most unbelievably nasty concoctions of solvent and goo. I’m still worried about Karey’s brain cells, after spending way too much time cleaning chutes with lacquer-thinner-saturated rags.

To Katrina Parkinson (yes, she came back the next day) and Celeste Thomas, who showed up Sunday to glue, glue, glue. This time, it was Celeste who got to burn a few brain cells inside the chutes, breathing the heady fumes of DAP Weldwood Original Contact Cement.

To my husband, Rich Daniels, who organized and cleaned out the garage to give us room for this preposterous effort, and stepped up as “day-of” errand-boy when we needed supplies because we were all too gooey to drive.

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Posted by agilepooch

Rubberized Contacts: 5. Hidden Costs

July 10, 2010

I recently collaborated with several friends to make and glue an assortment of table and chute skins for ourselves and our agility clubs – Bay Team and SMART. We used the Rubber on the Run technique, as documented in the book “Making Rubber Skins for Agility Equipment“. This is the fifth installment in a series of articles documenting our lessons learned so that others may benefit from our experience (and mistakes).

During this process, we learned that rubberizing contacts is not cheap. As mentioned above, my only experience is with the Rubber On The Run skins, so I have nothing to compare to. But to give you an idea, here are the costs of the raw materials (from the ROTR Pricing Guide):

Item Kit Pre-Made
A-frame $195 $395
Dogwalk $135 $375
Teeter $55 $120
Table $75 $125
Chute Mat/Rim $50 $95

Not included in these costs is shipping, which is not trivial (over $50 for some of the larger items), but the shipping cost is the same whether you buy the kit or the pre-made skin so that’s not really a consideration. The point of this article is to expose the hidden costs of making skins yourself (in the form of additional tools and supplies) so you can make a good decision when you decide which to purchase.

I have provided a shopping list (including sources and prices) for your consideration.

Making Skins

One-time purchases

Item Source Cost (approx)
Postal Scale Office Depot 35
Spray Bottle Lowes 2
4″ and 2″ plastic putty knives Lowes 2
Pool trowel Lowes 14
Plastic measuring cup set Walmart 4
Assorted plastic bins Target/Walmart 15
Materials for jig (in lieu of wood) Tap Plastic / Friedmans 30
Total $102

Consumables

Item Source Cost (approx)
Nitrile gloves (box of 40) Lowes 10
Duct tape (low residue) Lowes 10
Painters tape Lowes 5
Low Odor Mineral Spirits Lowes 15
Plastic Sheeting Lowes 22
Lacquer Thinner Lowes 18
Total (minimum) $80

As you can see, we spent over $200 on the supplies needed to make the skins after we bought the kits. I haven’t included acetone because it wasn’t required for the tables or chutes, but it would have been for any of the other kits. The math is clear: if all I had been building were the table and chute mats for myself, the kits would not have been a good investment and I’d have been better off buying the pre-made skins.

Attaching skins

One-time purchases

Item Source Cost (approx)
Clamp set Home Depot 28
Total $28

Consumables

Item Source Cost (approx)
Any old gloves (box of 40) Lowes 10
Contact Cement True Value 38
4″ disposable brushes (2) Lowes 5
Total (minimum) $43

We also spent nearly $75 on supplies to attach the skins we made. I didn’t include the cost of a utility knife and blades, because I didn’t use one (as you learned in Rubberized Contacts: Gluing and Trimming).

Fortunately, we were building much much more than one table and one chute. Collectively, we had purchased 6 chute kits and 8 table kits: as it turned out, we actually ended up constructing 7 chute mats and 12 table skins because of design changes (which will be discussed in a later post). Obviously, we had to buy more of a few of the consumables: specifically, gloves and contact cement. But by combining our efforts, we were able to take advantage of a the concepts known as . . .

Economy of Scale / Mass Production

Yes, there is some Economy of Scale when rubberizing equipment. Had we bought pre-made skins instead of kits (for the 6 chutes and 8 tables), we would have spent $700 more than we did for the kits. We more than compensated for both the one-time costs and the cost of the consumables within that margin.

And, there are efficiencies gained from Mass Production tactics as well. When we were molding our skins, we all took turns doing each task to get the experience. But we quickly specialized: specific tasks of measuring, mixing, pouring, troweling, and dragging/replacing the plastic were assigned to individuals, based on desire and aptitude.

So the most important lesson here is this: if you plan to rubberize your contacts, you need to do one of two things (or preferably, both) to maximize your return on investment:

  • Plan to do ALL of your contacts (economy of scale). You don’t even need to do them at the same time, you just need to know that you are going to do them all eventually so that the sting of the one-time expense is mitigated.
  • Gather your friends or your club and do them all together (mass production). Do what we did – plan a weekend to build a large quantity of one or two things. This only requires one taping job on the floor, and requires a lot less space than trying to do all of the different equipment types at once.
  • All of the above!!! This is actually easier than doing all of your own, because you can set aside different weekends for different pieces and only tape the floor once for each “set”. This way, you combine economy of scale with mass production and benefit in two ways.

Is It Worth The Effort?

This is really a two part question:

  • Is it worth making your own skins? That’s a somewhat more subjective question, which I’ll answer as follows:
  • IF you can take advantage of the economy of scale, either by doing all of your own equipment or getting your friends/clubs involved, AND
  • IF you have enough space to properly lay out the forms and house the skins while they cure, AND
  • IF you have more time than money, THEN
  • YES - it is definitely worth the effort (compared to paying for the pre-made skins).
  • BUT IF any of those caveats don’t fit your circumstances, you may be better off buying pre-made skins and gluing them on yourself.

Next up: measuring modifications and wrap-up.

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Posted by agilepooch

Rubberized Contacts: 4. Gluing and Trimming

July 10, 2010

Recently, some friends and I gathered at my house to make and mount Rubber on the Run skins on all of the chutes and tables belonging to our agility clubs – Bay Team and SMART. We leveraged some of the lessons I learned while making my own the previous weekend. But this was the first time we dealt with the final phase of the operation – gluing the skins on the equipment and trimming it. Here are the lessons we learned during this phase. This is the fourth installment in my saga. I’m assuming that you have a copy of the book (“Making Rubber Skins for Agility Equipment“) or it won’t make much sense.

Most Important Lesson #1

The process of gluing and trimming was actually pretty straightforward, once we learned Most Important Lesson #1: The book recommends using DAP Weldwood Original Contact Cement (red label). It also mentions that the Nonflammable version (green label) would probably work too. Don’t believe it. It doesn’t. Period. Don’t waste $35 (and your dog’s safety) trying to be “green” – we already did that for you.

We had actually finished all of the tables and were hoping for the best when we started on the chutes (with their curved surfaces) and realized the stuff was hopeless. Once we converted to the good stuff and saw how well it worked, we decided to redo the tables. Here’s how ineffective the other stuff is: despite having cured on the tables for a couple of hours, the skins still peeled off with the resistance of a post-it note. In contrast, when you set the mats with the good stuff, you had better get it right the first time because it isn’t coming off, ever.

Most Important Lesson #2

The book suggests trimming the skins after mounting with a utility knife, and also suggests swapping blades often. I hate utility knives – I’m scared to death of them. And I just had a sense that the effort required to cut something that was going to dull the blades so quickly had real potential to turn into a bloodbath for me. So I tried something else – a tool that I’ve often used for trimming foam rubber and memory foam – my mother’s old electric carving knife from the ’70s. SUCCESS!!! It cut the rubber like butter and left a perfect edge. No fuss, no muss, no blood. It was so impressive that I made a video.

You can still get these knives, but be sure to get a two-blade model – that is the secret ingredient. I’m pretty sure a single-blade one would just bind up on the rubber. If you’re not as lucky as I was and don’t still have the one that thrashed many a holiday turkey in your youth, I think you can still get them. For instance, the Cuisinart CEK-40 appears to come with the right blades.

Other Notes

  • As suggested in the book, we used clamps and glued half of each table at a time. This way, the mat is already positioned correctly, which is extremely important because you really can’t reposition when you use the good contact cement.
  • Don’t waste your time with a 2″ brush. The cement is goopy and sets up quickly. So the more space you can cover, the better. We used a cheap 4″ brush (as modeled here by Celeste Thomas, master gluer).
  • The other important thing that isn’t mentioned in the book (but is visible in the last photo) is to protect the other half of the skin when you are applying the contact cement. You can see that we have inserted plastic sheeting between the two layers to avoid getting cement on the wrong piece and having them get stuck together.

Coming up next – hidden costs, measuring modifications and wrap-up.

2 Comments | Rubberized Contacts | Permalink
Posted by agilepooch

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