Chad David.com

I’ve heard wonderful things coming from all over the web-o-sphere about Vibram “FiveFingers” and decided to give them a shot. I recall first hearing about them on Reddit.com where someone had posted an article making a compelling case for barefoot running versus running shoe.. running.
A fellow Redditor pointed out the study was partly funded by Vibram, potentially making it a slightly biased study, but nevertheless the article made some interesting claims and pushed me into further investigation into this odd foot wear. Calling the product “foot wear” almost defeats the purpose of Five Fingers, which are, perhaps, best described as gloves for your feet.

The Advantage:

The whole philosophy behind FiveFingers come from the notion that the modern running shoe has set back millions of years of podiatric(foot) evolution. Leonardo Di Vinci has been quoted as saying “The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.” and for the most part this is quite true. Vibram notes on their website that our feet have as many as 26 bones, 20 muscles, 33 joints, as well as a multitude of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments that the modern shoe just doesn’t make use of. As a result, many of our feet, since childhood, have been set in a sad state of atrophy. When we walk in our modern day shoes we feel very little, move our feet very little, and have been conditioned, for the most part, to step heel toe.

The modern shoe has been developed over the years to encourage this type of “heel toe” step. However, in recent years studies have been conducted to discern whether or not this type of running and walking is ideal for our feet. Further studies are obviously needed, and I’m no scientist, but as I understand it, findings have been showing that landing on your heel puts a lot of high impact stress on your legs and joints which can result in problems and injury later down the figurative road.

Barefoot running has been said to improve all kinds of natural aspects of your foot such as the range of motion in your feet’s joints (toes, ankles, etc.), muscle strength in your calves, feet, and lower legs, balance, agility, proprioception, body awareness, and posture among other things. So, in short, barefoot running seems pretty darn swell.

My KSOs:

Many of you who know me personally, know that I’ve been an avid martial artist for several years now, of which involves training in bare feet. In high school I spent a lot of time in track and field training, and although I never became an Olympic runner or professional athlete, running and jogging has always been an important part of my daily regimen. I also find the notion of “natural remedies” and “natural” products to be intriguing. So, suffice it to say, all this talk about the Vibram barefoot advantage, has piqued my interest in the last few months.

I noticed FiveFingers were out of stock, via the official website, for several months. Only one store in Toronto (MEC on King st.) currently sells them, and they’re consistently out of stock as well. One can only assume Vibrams have become a hot commodity so I jumped at the chance a few weeks ago to order a pair when I noticed they were finally in stock.

Choosing your Vibram model can be a daunting task. Vibrams come in all types and flavours and I opted for the popular KSO line. KSO is short for “keep stuff out” since the shoe has a top covering lacking in the other models that.. well.. keeps stuff out! KSO’s are also marketed to be useful in all types of terrain and activity due to their, tougher than average, design.

I naturally chose black because it was the least ugly of all the colours and styles. I had been warned to be prepared to get funny looks from people, as FiveFingers do not look in any way like your average footwear. My coworker had even told me they looked creepy upon viewing the website photos. I don’t know if I’d go as far as calling them creepy, but they certainly look odd I suppose.

How They Feel:

My KSOs finally arrived on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. After opening the modest shoebox, I immediately proceeded to try them on. My initial concerns were that the shoe might not fit me. Lack of store demos had prevented me from actually TRYING before buying, and I found the Vibram sizing chart to be slightly confusing. The chart uses it’s own sizing system based on the actual length of your longest foot in inches. I went for a size slightly larger than my foot (by maybe 1/4 of an inch) just to be safe.

At first when I tried on the shoe/slipper/glove it felt a little loose on my foot, but my toes DID reach well into the foot sockets and for the most part the KSOs hugged my foot comfortably. Comfortable is a great word to describe these things, because they feel fantastic. The fabric breathes and allows air to flow through, and it’s very snug around your foot. The slippers were a bit stiff at first but after working them in a little I found they bend and flex quite naturally with the contours of my foot. I have no complaints about how they feel, they feel great!

My first jog in my Vibrams was an interesting one. You literally feel EVERYTHING in these things. When you hit a twig, you KNOW you just stepped on a twig. When you hit a significantly sized rock, the FiveFinger rubber sole bends over the rock and you can feel it’s shape pressing into your foot. It’s a really neat experience for those who are used to heavily padded running/walking shoes. You kind of get a sense of natural freedom. Due to the mesh fabric and thin lining, air flows freely over your feet and you can feel hot and cold instantly… exhilarating!

During my test-drive I took the vibrams over all types of terrain, grass, dirt, pavement, pebbles, large rocks, etc. The result was pleasing. I found I had much more control since the human foot seems to do a great job gripping, bending, and moulding to any form of earth. It is said that actual jogging and running in Vibrams can be difficult at first if you are conditioned to use running shoes since you use very different muscle groups. I made conscious effort to strike the ground with the palm of my foot and let my heel down last. This way, my foot palm acts as a sort of shock absorber, letting my heel down easy, versus the more destructive rolling heel impact I was warned about online.

The Verdict:

I found it fairly easy to adapt to barefoot activity, but I did notice my muscles get tired and sore fast so I’ve been taking it easy. I think that being an active Capoerista has significantly strengthened my muscles involved in barefoot exercise enough to make it a relatively painless and simple transition for me. I have to say that martial arts is incredible in Vibrams. While, usually, it is best for a Capoerista to ACTUALLY go barefoot so that their feet become tough to withstand outdoor Capoeira, I found that the KSOs do give me a much stronger grip and keep my feet clean from dirt and other nasty things that may be lurking outdoors.

Taking the shoes out for a walk to the drug store was equally comfortable. I noticed my right foot was cramping up which was a little painful, but I’m not sure I’d blame this on the shoe, probably more so my feet getting used to barefoot walking. Feeling all the cracks and bumps in the concrete is really cool and definitely makes walking more interesting.

Closing Thoughts:

In conclusion I highly recommend Vibrams. Although I was initially concerned about their fit, they ended up fitting like a glove (pun intended) in all aspects of my active life (so far). I enjoy the new tactile sensations of feeling the ground and wind over my feet like never before. My feet feel stronger, flexible, and more dexterous, and I feel that my KSOs have helped improve my Capoeira training in this way. I haven’t had a lot of issues with pain, and long term effects have yet to be observed but I’m optimistic.

A lot of people have been naturally curious about my strange foot gloves, some have poked fun, others have asked where to buy them, and strangers sometimes stare, but for the most part people don’t really notice unless you bring attention to them. I’ll definately be getting a lot of use out of these things and I’ll keep you guys updated on future developments. I urge you all to give them a try!

Well, Apple finally did it. They’ve released the long anticipated, mysterious, and fabled legend of the Apple tablet PC. However, what we got was the iPad… The device Mr. Jobs presented, wasn’t a PC (as in “personal computer” not the Microsoft powered variety), nor did its LCD lit innards (ie the OS) bear any resemblance to the MacBook’s OSX (yes I realize the glossy dock at the bottom, and wallpaper are both OSX-like… Doesn’t count!). In short I (among others based on the internet comments I’ve read so far), am unimpressed. I’m surprised this thing wasn’t designed to address the concerns of it’s iPhone/iTouch fans, considering it appears to have been conceptualized based on the iPhone and iTouch. The thing has no multi-tasking, no camera, no Flash Player and simply runs a steroid induced version of the iTouch OS. Nothing new, nothing revolutionary about it really. At first I assumed it was a cross between a MacBook and an iTouch, but on further investigation I found that it’s not even close. I don’t see why someone wouldn’t just buy a MacBook Air, which can do virtually everything the iPad can do and more at a marginally higher price. Hell, the Air is supposedly even LIGHTER than the iPad. As many have put it, it’s “just an iTouch but bigger”, and sadly this statement is not far from truth.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there’s no place for the iPad, and I’m not saying it’s horrible. As far as the iTouch line-up goes, it’s DEFINATELY an improvement on the iTouch/iPhone family. The screen is larger and gorgeous (from what I can see), the OS is much more responsive (judging by Engadget hands-on video), and browsing the internet looks like a fantastic and joyful experience. The larger screen size and boost in computing power means viewing websites and digital media will be much easier and faster then ever before. The device is also just as purty as I would expect from an Apple product. It looks sleek, glossy, minimal, clean, and sexy. All things I’d want from a new, must-have gadget. The fact that iWork is now available for this device, as well as many improvements to the built-in apps, are definitely welcome.

Personally I was hoping they would present a device closer to an iTouchified MacBook. I was hoping for something with open hard-drive storage and finder, something that can multi-task, something with MMS built-in, something that can handle video-conferencing on the fly, something that can integrate with my other media devices around the house, a chat program that runs on the sidelines, something that can finally handle flash like OSX browsers, something that can project holographic data in 3D space, signal the alien motherships… You know the basics… It almost feels like Apple overestimated their iTouch/iPhone success and decided that people simply would clamor for more of that on a larger scale. Apple appears to be shooting to fully realize their online store model (read:$$$$) by creating a locked down device where people can buy their hearts out. They’ve introduced a more powerful mobile iTunes store, App store, and now an E-Book store to boot. It may be revolutionary to Apple’s big wig pocket books, but to the average consumer, it just sounds silly to call this a revolution. Several years ago, going from a dinky Motorola that just makes calls and sends txts, to a gorgeous and robust multi-touch digital media center, PDA, communication and office station in the palm of your hand; now THAT was a revolution!

At this point I think it’s worth briefly noting that I believe the iPad DOES have the potential of bridging the gap between smartphones and desktops, forcing corporations and organizations to tailor their websites and digital media to be more accessible to a wider audience. Safari on the iPad probably already rivals Safari on a MacBook, but being a mobile device, bandwidth limitations will need to be seriously considered, as well as issues of Flash accessibility if the iPad catches on as widespread phenomenon (not only just as an Apple product, but competitor imitations as well). I know on my iPhone there are plenty websites that consistently display poorly, buggy, or not at all by using Flash as a platform, or crashing my iPhone Safari.

I for one, look for more than just a media platform in which I can buy and view digital media and content. I want a productivity tool, something I can install Firefox and something powerful and robust enough to run software like Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash. This device does none of those things, although, I should give it credit for integrating iWork in the mix. That’s definately a step forward, but with no hard-drive it seems it would be difficult to use this thing as you would a laptop, transferring files and folders from system to system. I also don’t understand how you can have a tablet with no hand-writing software. Even if hand-writing is becoming more and more obsolete as a way of inscribing official documents, they still could of added it as a side-thought at least (or maybe they have and I haven’t noticed?).

So, in conclusion, when my iPhone finally gives out, or when I feel like I have money to waste on something fun, this thing could be useful (I guess it wouldn’t really replace my iPhone without phone functionality, would it?). There will be a lot of die hard fan boys and average Joe office workers who will clamour for this, I’m sure. I can definately see myself enjoying this thing on my couch, or when I’m out of town without my desktop. It’s a toy with potential to be more. If some really powerful apps (Photoshop/Flash iPad) are developed for it, perhaps I will consider purchasing one, but for now, sitting at a $499 USD (low-end model) - $829 USD price tag (high-end model) it seems like the MacBook Air is still the closest thing to a Tablet MacBook any of us are going to get.

I haven’t posted in a while and am pumped from just seeing the movie Daybreakers with some coworkers, so I figured now would be a great time to post about this ridiculous movie. Now when I say ridiculous, I don’t mean it was awful, nor do I mean I hated it. It was ridiculous in the way that something is so awful, that it actually transitions to the awesome end of the spectrum.

So basically this movie is about a near future world populated by mostly humans turned vampires. These vampires are just as intelligent as they were in their human forms, and retain most of their human emotions and personalities, etc, so they’re basically just superhuman humans who thirst for blood. Their weakness hold true to traditional vampire lore (death by sun, wooden stakes, etc.) and the civilized world sort of keeps on spinning despite the vampire’s shortcomings.

So as you’d expect, unturned humans become quite the commodity, since most of the world has already become vampires, there are few humans left, and they sort of become hunted as cattle. Corporations take advantage of the situation, and vampires who don’t get enough blood become ravenous monsters, yadda yadda, that’s about all you need to know.

The success of this movie doesn’t come with an intellegent storyline. Most of the movie strains to be serious, but inevitably reeks of cheese, however this shortcoming is also the success of the film in my eyes, because it’s an awesome variety of cheese. Just as blue cheese stinks, but tastes great (to some), this movie was hilarious and entertaining and I definately recommend it to anyone who wants some cheap thrills and good old fashioned laughs.

Daybreakers kind of reminded me of an old horror B-Movie of yore, blended with the ultra slick and cool styling of modern cinema, much like Blade or the Matrix. The cheap thrill of something jumping out at you, or exploding into a mess of gore was relentlessly consistent throughout the movie, but I think perhaps the best part of the movie was two actors, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill. Niell being the heartless corporate villian, and Dafoe cast as a sort of badass comic relief I suppose. Ethan Hawke was kind of cheesier than the others, but appropriate in his role as the sort of aloof melodramatic hero of the movie, and all other characters were sort of secondary filler for the story.

Anyway, I recommend this movie for sure. It was not so great from a believable, realistic, or intellegent story, but it definately was entertaining and a unique take on the vampire genre I thought. It was a pretty cool concept, executed well enough. I really enjoyed the art and cinematography styling of the movie as well; reminded me much of the Matrix and Blade with more thrills and less action, basically.

4/5 stars from me! Go see it if you’re bored!