Sunscreen Is A Sport Essential

With spring here and summer coming on strong, we'll soon be soaking in the sun rays whether we intend to or not. That's why it's essential to add sunscreem to our list of sport essentials.

Sunscreen is as critical as warming up and cooling down. Wearing sunscreen protects our body's larges organ -- our skin -- from the sun's damaging and potentially deadly rays. It also ensures that we won't get a bad burn that will limit our mobility.

The Mayo Clinic recommends that you:

1. Use a suncreen with at least an SPF 15 rating that states on the container that it will block harmful UVA and UVB rays.
2. Apply the sunscreen liberally 30 minutes before you go out.
3. Reapply sunscreen every two hours -- even the water resistant version is not waterproof and will wear off after a while.
   

Sunscreen is not sunblock. Some harmful rays will still get through. The experts say it's a good idea to avoid exposure between 10 am and 4 pm when the sun is at its most intense. Also, wear a broad-brimmed hat and clothing that will block out the rays. Living in Florida, I also apply a thicker zinc sunblock on my nose, cheeks and ears when commitments force me to run in the sun.

Sunscreen can help ensure you are not one of the tens of thousands of Americans who will be diagnosed with skin cancer this year. Slater it on.

The Sport of Photography

Vacation time is coming on fast, and there's a great way to combine adventure, art and exercise. It's called photography.

Photography at its best, is like hunting without a gun. You go out in search of rare beauty and find that it's not always right by the road. In fact, most of the absolutely stunning scenes I've caught with my cameras have been a fair hike off the beaten path in national parks and cities around the world. For example, the photo to the left was taken after an hour or so hike on a reasonably steep trail on Mammoth Mountain in California. This is just one waterfall in a series that made the effort worth it.

Some photographers rely way too much on telephoto lenses to capture a scene, and they miss out on the fantastic views they would have had if they took the time to hike a trail and climb a ridge or two. This photo of Smith Rock in Oregon took a long hard scramble up a steep granite monolith. But, as you can see, the view on the other side of the rock, the side invisible from the parking lot and nature trail, is stunning and unforgettable. Most of the photos I treasure most were taken with some effort.

Even in cities, getting a great shot requires hiking around in search of subjects and then walking even more to decide how best to frame them.

In photography, a little bit of physical effort can go a long way. If you decide to take this route:

1. Be sure you're fit enough for the terrain. Don't hike, climb and scramble without your doctor's permission.
2. Be sure you have the right clothing and equipment for the environment. The worst mistake you can make is heading out under-dressed or over-dressed for the environment. Also, keep in mind that weather can change quickly in most locations. I always bring a raincoat to ensure I'll be warm and dry if a storm rolls in. A camera case or Ziplock bag can keep your camera dry. Shoes are also critical. At some locations, Tevas are appropriate. In more rugged terrain, a good pair of hiking boots are necessary. Also, bring food, water, and some means of signaling for help if you're in a remote area.
   
3. Bring a map and let the authorities know where you are and where you're going. I always check in at the ranger station before taking a hike. You absolutely have to get a map. Even the most seemingly basic trails can take odd, disorienting turns. Also, rangers are the best source for finding out about potential hazards and spectacular views. Another point: Make sure you don't enter areas the authorities have designated as off-limits. These areas are usually too dangerous for foot traffic or the wildlife there is threatened and deserves a break.
   
4. Make sure your camera is charged up and has plenty of available memory. A back-up battery and an extra memory card will prevent you from losing the shot of a lifetime. If you can handle the weight, bring a tripod. A tripod will keep your camera steadier than your hands ever can, which yields clearer photos.
   
5. Finally, don't walk and shoot. If you're moving while looking through the camera lens, there's a good chance you're going to trip and fall.

The sport of photography is good for the eye, heart and mind. The adventure and tech gear reviewed on RuggedReviews.com will get you started.

The Perfect Workout Partner?

Finding the perfect workout partner is a lot harder than it sounds. The number of fellow fitness fanatics I know who have workout partners that, well, work out, are few and far between.

The challenges in finding a good workout partner are the same as finding a good mate. The complaints that lead to breakups of workout partners are similar, too:


1. You don't have enough time for me. The greatest problems I've ever seen between workout partners is timing. Meeting all our obligations to work and family takes an amazing amount of dedication and coordination. We have to work early, we have to work late, we have to fix our houses, we have to do our chores, we have to drive the kids.... The list is long and working out isn't always our top priority, which means we have to cut a workout or two, leaving our workout partner on his/her own. Multiply the complexity by two, and you can see why this leads to conflict.

2. You're always late. Another problem is if you're always on time but your buddy is always late, or vice-versa. Have you ever stood around waiting for someone for fifteen minutes in a gym? Or have you ever started your workout and been out of synch with your partner and had to help them make up the missed exercises at the end? It's no fun and can be a bone of contention.

3. You think you're better than me. Finding a workout partner who is perfectly matched to you weight lifting isn't a problem. You can just adjust the weight accordingly. Finding a workout partner who runs at the same pace can be more of a challenge. Usually one person or the other has to hold back from full throttle to be a good buddy, and that costs fitness points in the long run. Some people solve this problem by running together for a set distance then splitting off for a couple of miles. That's a good solution, as long as the other party doesn't mind getting left in the dust.

4. You talk too much. I've seen this a lot in gym settings. One person is completely dedicated to exercising, while the other person spends a lot of time jibber jabbering either with his/her workout buddy or everyone else in the gym. The silent type and the social type don't always make the best workout partners.

5. You smell. This one speaks for itself.

As you can see, there are all kind of challenges to keeping a working-out relationship together. My own solution, quite frankly, is to work out alone. I've never found a person that could exercise according to my fractured schedule. And I don't like waiting around when the mood hits me to get moving.

Rather than get dragged down by a complicated workout partner relationship, I'd rather work out when I'm ready, willing and able. It works for me.

The absolute greatest tragedy I've ever seen involving workout partners is when one uses the other as an excuse for not working out or quitting completely. It happens too often and it's a total cop-out.

What do you think?

Your Computer Crashed -- Now What?

Computers crash or are disabled in many different ways. There's the press the button and nothing happens version. The press the button, the computer boots up, and you get the dreaded blue screen error message version. And there's the it starts but the software won't work right version.

I've had all three versions and, man, is it a pain to fix them. Fortunately, there's a dry-eyed, potentially productive way to approach each scenario:

Press the button and nothing happens. I recently had this happen with an old Toshiba laptop. Without warning, it just stopped turning on. It was way beyond warranty, so my instinct was just to throw it away. (If it was under warranty, I would have just run it back to the store for servicing.)

Before sending it the morgue, I decided to try "defibrillating" it. Basically, I unplugged it from the adapter, turned it over and removed the battery, and counted to 15 -- I don't know why 15 seconds is the industry standard countdown for crash and starts, but it is. I then plugged the battery back into the computer, plugged the adapter back in, and hit the power key. The computer unexpectedly started right up. I don't know why, and I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The computer boots up and you get the dreaded blue screen error message. I had this happen today. I started the old Toshiba computer and received one of those incomprehensible error messages warning about C00000021 and registry problems in something called a hive. Despite the horrible and dire appearance of all the warnings, the solution was pretty easy. Turn the computer off, get the recovery CD that came with the computer, put it in the CD drive, press start. The computer booted up properly. I ran the disk check function from the computer's help center. It determined that a flaw in a tune stored in iTunes caused the problem and it fixed it. The computer is up and running.

IMPORTANT NOTE: An awful lot of computer companies are shipping computers without recovery CDs. The cheap bast... expect you to visit their Web sites and burn the recovery CDs yourself. And you MUST! Recovery CDs will save you an enormous amount of time and effort to resuscitate your computer. It might sound like a horrible pain to make them when you first get your machine, but wait until you experience what it's like trying to revive a machine when you don't have them. Some computer companies -- out of the goodness of their hearts -- will ship a set to you. But who wants to wait? Make them now!

Computer starts but the software won't work right. This is a huge problem, especially with hackers out there trying to break into our computers, infect them with virus programs and render them useless. The first line of defense is to make sure you have internet security software operating on your machine. The next is to download the free Malwarebytes program to get a bug that manages to break through security out of your machine. Keep both programs updated.

If that fails, check your computer and software manufacturer's sites for information on the problem. Another way to find solutions is to place the exact working of the error code in the Google search window on another computer to see if any experts have posted solutions on computer blogs. This general search approach has solved problems more times than I can count. It usually involves running a Malwarebytes scan and removing .dll files that are part of the infection. Identify and remove problem .dll files only if you're familiar with this form of computer file. If you're not familiar, you risk removing a critical file.

Also, if you click on a site and then go to leave it and a screen says either that your computer hard drive is being scanned for viruses or it offers you the option of having your computer scanned or it says are you sure you want to leave the site, don't click on anything. Press the power switch to turn the computer off. When you turn the computer back on again, immediately activate Malwarebytes and turn off the wireless receiver. If you leave the receiver on, your computer might download more infected files even as you're trying to fix it. Also, if you're not quick enough turning off the wireless receiver, do not let your browser open the previously infected page. You'll get hit again.

Other effective tactics to protect your computer: 1) Always plug it into a power strip with surge protection; 2) Allow automatic software updates -- Microsoft is always sending security updates; 3) Use the WOT add-on program in the Firefox browser to identify sites that could infect your machine before you visit them; and 4) Never click on emails, email attachments, photos or videos on sites that you aren't familiar with.

Finally, and most importantly, BACK-UP your documents, photos, videos and tunes. There's nothing worse than having a computer crash on you and losing all your data. This week, I reviewed an external back-up hard drive I use to protect my important data. The Western Digital My Book External Hard Drive is an easy way to ensure your files are safe.