Peak Nerd

I currently have a niece & nephew, both teenagers, visiting me for a week. This gives me an opportunity to be a tourist in my own town. On Saturday that meant going to see Alcatraz for the first time. Today, we went to Golden Gate Park to do a Segway tour. I brought along my company-issued jacket, since it was summer in San Francisco meaning it was cold and overcast. I also thought that it would be a great idea to wear my Google Glass so I can take pictures hands-free. 

I realized when I was sharing one of these photos on Facebook earlier today that I had probably hit Peak Nerd, at least for me. 

Segway + company logo clothing + Google Glass = Peak Nerd

Segway + company logo clothing + Google Glass = Peak Nerd

The Segway was fun. More fun than I expected, actually, and it didn't take much effort to get quite comfortable driving it. It's not the most comfortable thing to ride for extended periods and we were thankful for the breaks, but there's something fascinating about this two-wheeled, self-balancing thing. It didn't change the world, but it was fun. I would definitely try it again. 

Google Glass allowed me to take some photos and short videos hands-free, which was quite convenient. Other than the potential safety issue of concentrating on this little screen while taking & reviewing the shot, it was great.

The accuracy of the wink wasn't perfect; it didn't always take a shot when I wanted it to and the 1-2 second delay between the wink and the shot was annoying. The quality of the shots weren't great either, but the difference between having any pictures and none is obviously huge. 

As for taking a video, I had to use the auto-activate on tilt which required me to look up around 30° to turn Glass on then use voice commands to "Record a video". Due to noise and other factors it didn't always activate, and when it did it only allowed 10 seconds of recording unless I pressed the button to extend it; since I needed to keep both hands on the Segway, I didn't, so I ended up with a few random 10 second clips of questionable video quality. This wasn't going to replace a GoPro anytime soon. 

Overall, I enjoyed the experience to try these two alpha-nerd technologies together. If someone were to give me a Segway (or if they dropped in price significantly) I would happily integrate it into my life. I'd recommend trying it if you haven't yet. 

Now, if we only had Segway jousting in Golden Gate Park, I'd sign up right now.