Ultra-low bandwidth data transfer

My group is doing research on basement wall systems in a house in Kitchener (town south of Waterloo). We typically set up a telephone modem or network connection to dataloggers to remotely retrieve our data, but in this case, we just installed a computer extension cable to the outside, so we can stand in the side yard and download to a laptop.

I have been very big on limiting my car use; I managed to go 96 days between filling up on gas this summer. I can walk to the University, bike everywhere else, and save my car for Home Depot runs. So I suggested to my advisor that I could take care of downloads via bicycle trips, with the use of software that connects from a Palm to the datalogger. He replied:

Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 03:56:20 -0400
From: Building Engineering Group Advisor
To: KU
Subject: Re: Itinerary for Return

RE: Rather than a piece of electronics, may I offer you my mechanical device: a car. This allows you to use a laptop, save an hour round trip, and protect your back and your laptop. Just an offer.

My answer was:

I have heard of this 'car' device you speak of--and some very smart people have told me that these devices are responsible for a good portion of North America's imported fuel consumption [grin].

Seriously, I enjoy the bike ride, and that ride is about the scale I would do for fun/exercise (less than a commute back from Westford). I'm planning on doing it for download trips until the weather turns really crappy; it's just a question of whether I'm doing it with a light piece of computing power or a heavier piece.

So with last nice stretch of good weather we're having (highs ~75 F), I went ahead and did the ride down there with my laptop.



I have to admit that it is probably a lot less time effective than a remote download from a desktop. But a lot more fun. We'll see how far into the winter this lasts--I might need to invest in studded tires.

In the meanwhile, does anyone have an old Palm PC (Palm OS Version 3.3 or later) that they have retired and put in a box, and want to sell for cheap? A pocket PC might work too.

I also had the guys putting down asphalt driveways asking me what I was doing--they said they were wondering if I was hacking into this house's bank account or something. I let them know that it was a lot less interesting than that. But they got me to rake out some asphalt for them--seemed like a nice break.

In other news, I finally got my, um, implant (yeah, dental) put in:



It is taking some getting used to... I'd gotten accustomed to not having a tooth back there. Also, the crown is a little high, so biting down hard on that side hurts my upper teeth a bit.

Also, Jofish is supposed to be coming to visit me this weekend! Woohoo! My first visitor! This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, for all of my south-of-the-border friends.