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Kyle Lewis verbally commits to UCLA

Sports Minded — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:36:47 +0000

DOWNEY— Downey High may have the start something special with their football program. Downey High se

2 Great Accessories For $100 & $200

iNsaneOS — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:12:10 +0000

Two accessories we’d love to own that make the world of iDevices a much better experience!

Two companies come to mind:
ZAGG, known for their famed invisibleSHIELD and JAWBONE, creators of the best bluetooth devices, and now something new!

Let’s start off with ZAGG and the product we want from them most. We love our LEATHERskin. It makes our iPad more comfortable to hold and it looks amazing, but what we really want and love from ZAGG is the ZAGGsparq 2.0:

[UPDATE: We received 2 ZAGGsparq replacements already & they do NOT work. No longer recommended.]

The next device we love and definitely recommend to all who are interested is from JAWBONE. JAWBONE is known for their superior Bluetooth products, such as their Original, ICON and the new ERA. The Original was great and the ICON far better, but we never got to own the ERA, due to its price. If you can afford it, we highly recommend JAWBONE as your Bluetooth supplier. Their new ERA is truly amazing and beautiful, both in design and its features.

We’re not talking about ERA now. That’s one thing we want, but that’s not with this article’s about. What can JAWBONE create that could possibly improve your iDevice experience? What’s one of the biggest features in the iPhone? That would be the iPod, but how can one company, a creator of world-renowned Bluetooth devices, improve an already-great experience? With the JAMBOX! Look no further for the best and most amazing, superior wireless portable speaker that sounds far better than any other:

What accessory do you want? Remember, comments can result in winning a free app

My better is better than your better

commandermeehan — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:15:52 +0000

The hardest thing about doing exercise is getting your sorry backside off the sofa and doing it. Tha

NFC experts talk about Isis, Google and Apple

Daniel Davenport — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:24:21 +0000

I found a talk with three industry experts about the prospects for NFC payment, via phones or cards, in the US. I posted my notes below the image. In general they all seemed to think that this time is different because of the mobile phone and believe the primary driver of consumer adoption will be the introduction of personalized marketing communications from brands.

In the interview:

Lydian Journal Technology Editor Patrick Gauthier
Drew Weinstein, Co-Founder, Sparq
Charles Walton, COO, INSIDE Secure

I can’t embed the video but click on the picture to go to the site/video.

Patrick Gauthier, Drew Weinstein, Charles Walton

The Catalyst is Google
1 – NFC is disruptive, comes from developers not from traditional industry players
2 – consumers need a reason to use it which will be the combination of payment and marketing offers.

New phase with veteran CEO at Isis could be a number of valuable things in the market, Isis is a service provider to the carriers.

How will Google, Apple and RIM impact mobile payment?

Charles Walton
The phone becomes the interaction point for consumers moving forward, also a personal device in the form of retail loyalty, all consumers have one and it will drive the future interaction which I call microadvertising.

Drew Weinstein
Yes the phone is going to help the argument with merchants, plus with all the cards are moving to NFC, Chase will 100% with their card portfolio and the other banks are following suite. The market will be driven by the ability to bring the delight of the iPhone to payment and merchant services.

Is there a killer app?

Patrick Gauthier
The financial services industry wants to pay with cards but things are very different when you throw in the phone. Back at VISA doing POS it was hard to have rich interactions. To be able to run an app on top of NFC is going to be a game changer. The rate of click through on mobile marketing can sometime be 100% higher than in other interactive channels. You can tell that the mobile user is different.
1) follow through of direct marketing
2) paying in the store, not at the check out counter

Charles Walton
The killer app is mobile retailing through microadvertising. The eyeballs looking at the phone during the transaction is powerful model for retail marketers.

Drew Weinstein
Its not just Google, the traditional card companies can now be surrounded by your merchant’s value added capabilities, (card guy having a hard time) using a list comparison shopping (ouch) its really about the app in the store plus the ads. You can understand why a bank would be interested in getting on the phone. (It was a choppy as it reads.)

What’s the advantage of NFC over barcodes?

Patrick Gauthier
Number of clicks – Red Laser very interesting but you still have to launch the app, NFC is just a touch. Merry Mecker says we are in a period of users experiencing their devices through touch metaphors.

Is there an NFC system that points the way in the US?

Drew Weinstein
i think the us will lead the market, the players, framework of services, primed to lead market

What do you see for mobile payments this year and over the decade?

Charles Walton
1 Well more than 50m NFC enabled devices by end of year.
2 Significant dynamic from small companies with pull from big players in developing new applications and channeling new offers
3 There will be a community of consumers doing mobile transactions this year
10 years
Chip based payments will be fully saturated. There will be a major change of brand dominance with the emergence of new forms of retailer and smaller devices.

Drew Weinstein
I am equally bullish on the deployment of devices in a market that challenges existing supply chains. Going to be a lively combination of partnerships

Patrick Gauthier
Payment systems change every 20 years. The first mobile payments in were in 1990. There will be many changes in the ecosystem with the rise of a active merchant looking to more directly advertise to their customers and actively managing payment and one on one marketing. Merchants will be the focus of change. There will be more devices and apps that will explode in the market. It will be like the web 10 years ago.

Joe Haden is a FREAK!

Brandon W. — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:15:00 +0000

Sports Science did this piece on one of my all time favorite Gators, Joe Haden. Guy is a freak athle

Java Semantic & Linked Open Data webapps - Part 3.1

Ultan O'Carroll — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:44:34 +0000

Community This is a crucially important aspect in a new and evolving technology domain like the Sema

ZaggSparq 2.0

Peter Murphy — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:02:39 +0000

Let’s face it, your world runs on batteries. It’s batteries that keep you on time and up to date with everything that is important to you. So why should your world be limited to the capacity of one tiny little battery?

Introducing the ZAGGsparq 2.0. Scientifically engineered to keep your world revolving when you need it most. Packed away in its ultra portable design lies the world’s most powerful portable charger of its type. 6,000 mAh of Lithium Polymer power on tap to keep you talking, texting, and taping your feet to the beat wherever you may go. Smart and beautiful, the ZAGGsparq 2.0 will charge two devices simultaneously, even while charging itself.

Once your gadgets are charged and ready, just slip this sleek little beauty inside your bag/pocket/purse and you are ready to face the world on your schedule, not your batteries’. Charge your world with the ZAGGsparq 2.0. Get your ZAGGsparq today and never go without a fully charged device.

Sponsored content from Zagg

iSoccer interview with Robbie Elliott from SPARQ

Abe Geiger — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:42:28 +0000

While down in Phoenix for the first Development Academy event of the year we had a chance to speak with Robbie Elliot from SPARQ. Robbie highlights two of key elements that SPARQ and iSoccer share:

1) Quantifying ability allows players to measure performance and set goals to improve

2) Competition motivates players to work harder which results in accelerated player development

Robbie, a 17 year professional in the English Premier League and England U21 International, also speaks to the importance of young players getting as many quality touches on the ball as possible. This challenge is particularly prevalent in the US given the number of other sports, academic, and entertainment options competing for their time. As a result, “training smarter” or more efficiently with tools such as iSoccer is vital to improving the level of soccer in the United States.

Is your better better than my better? - Viernes de creatividad

ramirocaso — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:38:41 +0000

Más de una vez hemos dicho en este blog, y en algún otro espacio, que lo mejor de la publicidad y el mercadeo hoy en día, en este mundo dinámico y cambiante, se da cuando se crean o facilitan experiencias en los consumidores. Dicho en pocas palabras: hablar sólo de atributos, hoy en día, no parece ser suficiente.

Nike lo ha entendido desde hace ya un buen tiempo. Se han constituido como una marca que refleja los verdaderos intereses de los consumidores, dejando atrás la discusión en torno a las características de sus productos (lo que no significa no hablar nunca de ellos, ¡ojo!) y poniendo el foco en sus consumidores. Así nació hace un par de años su alianza con Apple y su producto a cuatros manos, el Nike +. Así nació también el evento “Human Race”. En el presente está SPARQ.

SPARQ es una forma de entrenamiento creada por Rudy Chap para atletas de alto rendimiento. Su nombre es el acrónimo de Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction y Quickness, a la vez que constituye un evidente juego de palabras con Spark (Chispa).

A través de un sitio web, Nike vende la novedosa experiencia de entrenamiento SPARQ, apoyándola con una interesante interfaz que permite a los atletas configurar su propio programa de manera virtual. A la misma vez, el programa se apoya en una campaña cuyo lema es “My better is better than your better”. Así, aluden directamente al ego de los deportistas, haciendo que el uso de sus productos sea facilitador, en buena medida, de las experiencias que ellos buscan en el consumo de los mismos. Nike así ayuda a alimentar la fantasía detrás de los ejercicios, a construir una nueva forma de vivirlo.

En los videos que siguen puede ver una explicación de la campaña, así como uno de los comerciales.

Se escuchan opiniones

JDyer — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:29:10 +0000

Perfect Practice Center launches “Faster Athlete Training”

By Staff Report

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

Faster Athlete Athletic Development Specialists in Tulsa is a new business, but the staff is very familiar to the state sports community. Steve Yoder, owner of Perfect Practice Athletic Training Center, 4914 S. Sheridan, has now partnered with former Velocity Sports Performance GM Dan Hedman to make Perfect Practice the new home for Velocity-style Olympic level training programs in Tulsa. They have named their new project Faster Athlete Development Specialists.

In addition to Hedman, Yoder has brought in former Velocity Training Director and University of Nebraska strength & conditioning coach Courtney Coleman as Director of Program Development and former Sand Springs and TU football player, Louisiana Tech coach and Velocity trainer Josh Reed as Training Director. Other former Velocity coaches who are still available are also being recruited by Coleman and Reed.

“We are not a Velocity franchise,” said Yoder, “but there is no denying the positive impact the Velocity training experience has had on our coaches and the quality of training they bring to the table. We are forming our training programs based on the best protocols in the industry, so there will be many similarities, but we are creating our own system.”

One of the similarities is a connection to the National Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (NSCA).

“NSCA provides a certification by which all professional coaches can be measured, a certification that separates them from personal trainers as “Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists” (CSCS), said Hedman, ”While a certificate in itself does not create a trainer, it does tell the world this person has a college degree and has passed the most difficult test the industry offers. NSCA also rewards experience by providing advanced certifications. With Faster Athlete’s Professional Coach’s Training System, our coaches will be continually pushed to maximize their own potential,” Hedman added.

In addition to college degrees, NSCA requires First Aid and CPR certifications for all coaches and emphasizes safety above all else in its certification exams, something Hedman says parents need to consider when choosing a trainer. ”Would you trust your child’s knee surgery to a guy who learned it on the Internet? Of course they would not. This kind of training can cause injury if not taught properly and children are too important to trust to someone who is not recognized by his industry as a certified professional.”

All of Faster Athlete’s programs are being developed by Hedman, Coleman and Reed.

“The main core of Faster Athlete’s clients will be the youth athletes aged 8-18, with off-season training programs for local college and pro athletes while they are home in Tulsa. Coach Reed also developed a cutting edge training program for firefighters while at La. Tech and will be starting dynamic movement based adult fitness programs for advanced tactical adult athletes such as first responders and military, weekend warriors and for those who are simply looking for weight loss and fitness,” Hedman said.

Perfect Practice and Faster Athlete will also be a part of the Nike SPARQ Training Network and provide SPARQ testing and training services. SPARQ stands for speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness.

“These are the pillars of athletic movement and the focus of our athletic development programs, so tying in with SPARQ provides us with an identity that everyone in sports understands and ties us into their national ad campaign,” said Hedman. “SPARQ Speed Camps and Combines are coming very soon to the Tulsa Metro area.”

Hedman & Yoder have already reached an agreement with Soccer City in East Tulsa to host several SPARQ Soccer Camps.

“Kerry (Shubert – GM) and Amber (Kerry’s spouse and Office Manager) have welcomed us with open arms and we are thrilled to have access to their incredible facilities and work with the soccer community,” said Hedman. “Soccer players, especially the ladies and younger kids, can see dramatic improvements in their game with SPARQ training.”

Faster Athlete has scheduled four “Intro to SPARQ” clinics at Soccer City in May from 5-630pm. “The first ½ hour is Q & A for parents & coaches, the last hour is a live SPARQ clinic so the kids can experience the training first hand and the parents can see us in action,” said Hedman.

Clinics for grades 8-12 are set for May 21 & 28, cost for these clinics is only $10.
The first official summer camp, a full SPARQ High School Camp is set for May 31 from 1-4pm for $35 for grades 8-12 and will cover all facets of athletic development. There will also be several more summer camps scheduled for all ages.

Faster Athlete will also be offering a regular class schedule at Soccer City beginning in June. “These classes will be small groups and provide more advanced training than the camps,” said Hedman.

Training for both the 4^th-7^th & 8^th -12thage groups will be on Mondays & Wednesdays from 530-630pm for $150 per month. Shubert said, “We are excited to offer these expanded services to our clients, and while we are marketing these primarily to the soccer community, this training is open to any athlete who wants to develop speed and quickness.”

Faster Athlete is also looking for facilities to host SPARQ training in Sapulpa, Okmulgee, Bartlesville, Owasso and other outlying towns in the Tulsa Metroplex.

“Our vision is not to convince people to drive to us; we want to go to them. With the rising cost of fuel and people’s busy schedules, it just makes sense for one coach to drive there, rather than expect 25 people to drive to us. We can train on a football field, a track, in a gym, anywhere there is a safe surface with a little running room,” said Coach Reed, “we can train athletes in any environment that is safe for them to compete.

“There are groups of 20 or so from Sapulpa and Bixby who have contacted us already, as soon as they find a place, we are there.” said Hedman.

Tim Morehouse Kelly Shaver Olympic Cross-Training (Video 4)

Tim Morehouse — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:23:52 +0000

I’m going to try to upload a new work out video each week around Tuesday. Please let me know

Cross-Training Videos with Olympian Tim Morehouse and Personal Trainer Kelly Shaver

Tim Morehouse — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:13:48 +0000

Jason Rogers and I have been doing a lot of speaking appearances and attending a lot of events the p

Nike Does It Again

david im — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 04:13:03 +0000

Another great commercial from Nike featuring the song “All These Things That I’ve Done” by The Killers. In it are Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carl Lewis, and a bunch of other athletes. Very similar to their SPARQ Training commercials. Take a look.

Saul Williams - World on Wheels

Coco Butta — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:59:56 +0000

You might know Saul from the Nike’s Sparq Commercial.

Off his new album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!

Download Here

My better is better than your better

trvlc — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:25:11 +0000

I am loving Wieden & Kennedy’s “My Better” ad campaign for Nike SPARQ (Speed Power Agility Reaction Quickness) Training. The commercials – featuring LaDainian Tomlinson, Hope Solo, Matt Holiday (pictured below) and other top athletes – all make some sort of impression, whether it be a smile or a little motivation.

The first of the series of commercials to catch my attention features a HARD-hitting track by rapper/poet Saul Wiliams (a Newburgh, NY native) and can be seen here. As a fan of (but by no means expert on) intelligent hip hop, I remember when this song, List of Demands, dropped back in 2004. I was hooked. Its intense base riff and just-as-intense lyrics were, and still are, like nothing I have ever heard. Commercials often seem to blend into one another, and agencies put so much time and money into making their spots memorable, but sometimes a stand out track like this is all that is needed.

The SPARQ commercial that really motivated me to write a blog post, however, was this one:

I find Steve Nash absolutely hilarious in this commercial. Everything he does and says (or rather, the way in which he says it) is awesome. I remember reading in some advertising book about how Nike became cool by being cool, not by saying they were cool. The legacy continues.

My better is better

Chad Schomber — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:59:51 +0000

All big, game-changing ideas have one thing in common. Emotion. You have to punch your customer in t

My Quick Wrote this Post

dajukie7 — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:02:03 +0000

:.I’m Gonna Need You to Move that Trike.:

What’s that? Two post’s in two days? You can’t handle it can you? Well, I just wanted to give you this hilarious little nugget.

At our apartment complex, there is covered parking, which you have to pay for if you want your car to not get rained on. People are pretty protective of their spots, in fact, a couple of cars have been towed for parking illegaly in the covered parking. Well, right before dinner, we discovered this:

Someone thought it would be funny to park this old, clunker of a tricycle in a reserved parking spot. We agreed! I really couldn’t resist hopping on the little guy, and taking him for a spin. After a couple of wheelies, burnouts, and stoppies, I parked it back in its spot. Check out the action shot (thank you Steffen for you photography skills).

LOTD: Passport Kitteh
QOTD: “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan

Tags: tricycle, steffen, lolcats, funny, sparq, michael jordan

Saul Williams Has a "List of Demands"

squirrelqueen — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:40:50 +0000

As an avid viewer of sports programming on the telly, I’ve been intrigued by the music bed used in the latest Nike commercial for its line of active wear called SPARQ.

Ladainian Tomlinson is the lead athlete in the spot but the commercial is loaded with other famous athletes.

I finally looked up the song and now I’m definitely hooked.

It’s Saul Williams and the song is “List of Demands” from his self-titled CD. He has another CD entitled “The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust.“

Powerful stuff and a song I craved to hear again and again.

Here’s another video from his Web site for a remake of U2′s “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”

Song of the Week - March 21st, 2008

dperry1ma — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:01:52 +0000

This week’s Song of the Week is Saul Williams’ hip hop manifesto “List of Demands (Reparations)” from his eponymous 2004 album. You won’t find it on any Top 40 lists and you won’t hear it on the radio, but if you have been watching any of March’s sporting events there’s a good chance you have heard this track which is the striking background to Nike’s Sparq training gear ads.

Williams made a mark for himself as an award winning spoken word poet in the mid-90′s, and was the central character in 1998′s Sundance winning indie film “Slam”. When he decided to take on the music world, it was as an extension of his poetry, with his spoken world style ramped up and combined with hip hop/rock tracks reminiscent of “Rage Against the Machine”.

Find out more about Saul Williams at his MySpace page or the album page for “The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust”, his latest collection.