So I’m not certain how many of you know what my daily life entails. I’m not talking about the nitty gritty details of how I like my coffee or whether I decide to wear toe socks or even matching ones. I’m talking about my drive to work where I listen to some 80’s & 90’s tunes, WTOP-FM and FederalNewsRadio 1500. I am also thinking about which job I’m headed to, what kind of client I’m going to encounter and when I can run next. I carry a Sansa 2GB digital pocket recorder, an original Moto Droid, mess around on a re-rooted Nook Color tablet and I’m typing this on a Toshiba Satellite L515. Needless to say, I’m not the most forward in the latest tech gadgets these days, but it doesn’t mean I’m not interested. And I’m not ashamed. (Remember, I’m a poor college student on a budget, working 3 jobs)
My daily routine is always involved with techie in some way, and my studies revolve around network security and all that it entails. So when I met a custie who had a timing chip from the 2003 US Marine Corps Marathon attached to his left sneaker, it got me thinking about the technology involved with timing a runner. He said he originally had kept the timing chip not just for a souvenir, but to be able to reuse it for future MCM events. All the races I have been in for the last 5 years have required us to turn the chips back in at the end of the race…not sure if it was economics or records integrity, or a little of both… but this gentlemen then stated that at the 2005 MCM, they had changed timing chip systems and his souvenir was no longer valid.
Back in December, I ran a 5K that pretty much sucked ass. That is a whole different post, but my point in bringing it up here is the fact that I overheard quite a few runners talking about the fact that the chip timing system for this race malfunctioned because it didn’t record their start time, finish time or both. Now, the race planning was questionable at best because it was a race slated for about 5000 runners but the organizers allowed over 20,000 to register (at $45-65 a pop) and show up. (Can we say greedy?)
Eeep…a start corral with 4x the allotted traffic passing under the chip sensors? (Same with the finish line) Holy schnikes, of course people’s chips aren’t going to be read properly!!! I consider myself fortunate because both my start and finish *were* recorded properly. I will admit it was because I didn’t cross either in a sardine can-style…sometimes it pays to be slower that molasses LOL
So what does that say about RFID technology today? Have we made progress or are we just rehashing the same ideas and processes? I had pitched an idea to the department heads for using RFID coupled with barcode scanning to help streamline an inventory-tracking process that desperately needs to be updated, but was rebutted because of “prohibitive costs”. The research I had gathered said that RFID tags range anywhere from 80 cents a tag to $11. *ears flat* (we have over 10,000 units ranging from PCs, monitors, printers, PDAs, cellphones, external drives, etc.)
I volunteered to do a cost analysis for both ranges because I strongly feel our department could benefit from such a system, but then department budget cuts came down on my parade and that was the end of the discussion. Is it possible to have a cost-effective way to incorporate current, reliable technology in our everyday life and still be productive and accurate? Could we combine different genres of technology to enhance what we have now? (ie, GPS-style tracking for loaner laptops and equipment instead of having to install and pay for a separate program like Cyberangel)
Discuss.
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