July 2013 - Jones.in' for a Blog

Building a disc golf trophy

As I previously mentioned, my buddies and I started a tradition of holding a little disc golf tournament on Independence Day. This, the second year, we decided it would be pretty cool to start the tradition of a traveling trophy. Something that could pass from winner to winner each year.

I got together with one of my handy friends, Lee, and set off to build an epic disc golf trophy. We both envisioned something huge. Something so large you could hold it over your head like the Stanley Cup. Something very disc golf, like a functional mini basket. But it needed to be big. Since the competition is always on the Fourth of July, we opted to make it extremely patriotic too. We were going for something that would make a statement. It needed to get the reaction of “you’re not putting that in the living room” from your wife. That’s what we were setting out to do and I’m pretty sure we succeeded. Here’s the process of building an epic disc golf trophy.

To start we were considering various materials. Since we wanted it to be durable and last for years, it had to be something sturdy. We wanted to be able to pick up the trophy in celebration. We ended up with a combination of wood and metal pipe.

We started with cutting out some circles. We figured one for the top and bottom of the basket would work well. We’d secure them together with a small metal pipe. We bought some chain, trimmed it to size and hooked it into the top of the basket with eye hooks and wire. The bottom of the chains were attached to a metal ring that fit around the pipe. The final piece of the basket, was some cut-to-size chicken wire fencing. We stapled it on after paint.

For the base pole, we used a larger pipe so the basket could stand on top of the trophy base. To make sure it was a really sturdy trophy, we attached the pipe all the way through the box used as the base.

As we started building, the trophy grew bigger than we even intended. It was getting big so instead of a couple, stepped boxes on the base we stuck to just one. The big box was meant to give a sturdy base and allow for a place to add each year’s winner on an engraved plate.

We got the trophy built, sanded down and then came time for paint. Like I mentioned, we thought tying in a patriotic theme would work well for an annual Fourth of July tournament. I thought a blue base, with stars and a striped red and white top would be perfect.

To start we sprayed the entire thing with primer and then a coat of white paint. After that dried, I placed on some star stickers I cut out on a friend’s Cricut. Then I painted over those stars with blue, let them dry overnight and then peeled of the stickers. This left perfectly sharp looking white stars. The stripes were a similar process, but with painters tape to create sharp lines. We left the silver of the metal pipes and chains for a little shimmer and contrast.

The whole thing really came together and it looks amazing. I’m so happy I won it this year. I have it in my office, and now I can appreciate it each and every day. Did I mention it is a functional mini basket too?

What do you think? Have you ever tackled creating a trophy of your own?

Kreyos Meteor Smartwatch

Kreyos Meteor smartwatches The idea of a smartwatch has always intrigued me. I’m constantly pulling my phone out of my pocket and being able to do those checks right on my wrist. I thought the Pebble might be the answer, but I missed out on the pre-order. Maybe that was meant to be, as I’ve just ordered another smartwatch, the Kreyos Meteor.

Billed as “the only smartwatch with voice and gesture control,” the Meteor brings a whole new level of cool to the smartwatch game. Sure seeing notifications from your phone on your wrist was cool, but it’s even cooler if you can interact with those messages without pulling out your phone. That’s what sets the Meteor apart from the crowd. With this device you’ll be able to get all your messages, emails and more. You’ll even be able to answer phone calls and reply to messages with your voice, all while your phone stays tucked away in a pocket or purse. This device will finally let you have the communication device you’ve dreamed of for years.

The Meteor also lets you control your music, post to social media and even supports fitness tracking. There will be a full SDK so other apps can tap into it.

There are a ton of unique features to this watch, and instead of listing them all, I suggest you check out the Indiegogo page. Watch the video, read through and you’ll see why I jumped on this. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll be sure to review it as soon as it comes in (they expect before Christmas).

2013 Economy Open

Last year my friends and I established the “Economy Open.” This was to be a disc golf tournament held on the Fourth of July on the school grounds of an elementary right behind the house of our friends, Mike and Katie Economy (hence the name). The first year was very simple, using poles, trees and similar fixtures all around the school. It was a blast, but our options for challenging and creative holes was fairly limited.

2013 Economy Open Participants The event has now become an annual staple of our Independence Day get-together. The 2013 tournament was a major upgrade. This year we had two portable Innova Skillshots so we could place our holes wherever we wanted. This lead to many interesting shots with a lot of variety in both length and skill. We used some mandos and “water hazards” (sections of rock or fenced in areas). It really turned out to be quite the course.

The competition was actually very close. Three or four of us were in it until almost the end. In fact, the difference between first and second place was only a stroke. The full results are posted on Disc Golf Scene.

Despite a couple of penalty strokes due to our “water” hazards and one beautiful 150 foot birdie shot that just splashed right out of the basket, I had a really strong round. So strong in fact, I beat my little brother. That was my main goal of the day, but I surpassed that and actually won the tournament too. It felt great to walk away the champ.

Winner, Christopher Jones holds the trophy from the 2013 Economy Open disc golf tournament. The best part of winning? The fancy new trophy. My buddy, Lee, and I built this thing from scratch. We gave it a patriot look and created a base where each year’s winner will be added. I documented the whole trophy making experience, so check back for that story soon.

I’m looking forward to next year’s tourney. Everyone playing seems to be getting better and better, so the competition will be fierce. I hope I can defend my title, because this trophy is way to cool to have to hand over to someone else.

Valid Foursquare Venues

I’m a huge fan of Foursquare. I use it everyday. For a while now, I’ve also been a “super user,” meaning I can make edits and suggestions to the Foursquare database. With the help of 4sweep, I’ve been busy tracking down invalid and/or inappropriate venues. There are so many “bad” venues out there, I thought I’d share some thoughts on what makes a valid Foursquare venue.

Foursquare defines a “good” venue as, “Real places. Places people can meet up. Places that already have a Foursquare category. Places where people like to check in.” That’s a pretty good description, and if people lived by those rules, we’d be fine. The problem is new venues are popping up every day that don’t fit that mold.

The biggest offender I see is venues that are actually actions. “Watching The Big Bang Theory” or “Running a mile” are not valid venues. You can’t meet up at “running a mile.” Those are shouts and you can add them as you check-in to a valid venue. For example, check-in to a park and shout “out for a mile run” or check into your buddy’s house and shout “watching Big Bang Theory with Todd.”

The next one is mis-categorized homes. I know you like to think “Sally’s Pink Palace” is a castle, but we all know it’s just your apartment. The same goes for your home brewery operation. If it’s your home, just make it a home. It’s more beneficial to you too, because it will be more private and you won’t end up with a random person showing up at your door, demanding a can of PBR from your dive bar.

I can’t tell you how many car venues I’ve cleaned up. Cars are not venues. They just aren’t, so please stop creating them.

Getting too specific is also a large problem. You can check into “Dunkin’ Donuts,” but you shouldn’t be checking into “booth #4” or any bathroom, anywhere, ever. Let’s keep it simple and uncluttered. Your Xbox is not an arcade. Your big screen TV is not a theatre. No seats, no toilets and no desks. Please and thank you.

Vague check-ins like “Work,” “Planet Earth” or “The Store” don’t work either. Foursquare venues are there for more than just your personal fun. Foursquare has created a huge database that can actually help people explore their surroundings. It becomes less helpful when you create a burger joint called “Work all day long.” These are the kinds of things you can shout in your check-in to a real venue like “McDonalds” or “BigCorp Headquarters.”

Those are just a small sampling of some of the bad venues I’ve been coming across. I hope it was helpful to learn a few dos and don’ts for Foursquare venue creation. What’s the craziest venue you’ve come across in Foursquare?