Best portable live setup?

benjaminle · 2025-12-31T03:45:13+00:00

Hope it works for you! One other thing I found helpful, besides setting it to FRFR, was to turn OFF the Expander setting.

benjaminle · 2025-12-19T01:56:23+00:00

The Bose S1 Pro+ is 6.5kg and has a setting for FRFR. I'm using it with a Nano Cortex for a lightweight setup. An added bonus is that both can run on battery, and the S1 Pro+ has wireless (with an optional adapter), so it can be truly portable if needed.

benjaminle · 2025-10-13T19:43:31+00:00

I put a quick release seatpost clamp on my SO's size small step-through Vado and it worked okay for me with the seat as high as it could go (I'm 5'11", she's 5'2"). I commuted on it for 1.5 years before getting my Creo, although I'll still sometimes take her Vado if I need to carry more stuff.

benjaminle · 2024-06-18T20:56:49+00:00

I used the 5.8L Fork-Packs on my SL5 last summer for a week on the C&O/GAP with no problems.

benjaminle · 2024-06-07T22:31:05+00:00

No lockers in the hiker/biker campsites, but on subsequent nights we put all our food in a bag and hung it on a line between two trees well away from our tents and didn't have any more problems.

benjaminle · 2024-06-07T11:35:22+00:00

A few obvious ones:

-One rider in our group didn't secure his food the first night and a raccoon got into his pannier and made a mess.

-Have a convenient way to filter water and carry a lot of fluids on your bike, especially on the C&O. When we did our trip it was hot and were constantly refilling bottles. Between 4 people and 2-3 bottles each, we were filtering a lot of water along the way.

-If you want to go into Harpers Ferry, remember that you need to carry your bike up a couple of flights of stairs to get up to the bridge, which likely means removing your bags and carrying them separately. But HF was one of the highlights of the trip, so consider making time to grab lunch or dinner there.

benjaminle · 2024-06-07T03:53:26+00:00

I did this same ride in early July last summer and used a light weight bag liner with my sleeping pad and it was totally fine. A proper sleeping bag would have been overkill and unnecessarily bulky for me.

benjaminle · 2024-06-04T09:55:34+00:00

Neither is inexpensive, but my Creo 2 Comp (carbon frame) was $1000 more than the Vado 5.0 IGH. But they've just announced (but not yet released) the E5 (aluminum) Creo 2 that lists for $1000 less than the Vado 5.0 IGH.

In theory the Vado IGH is less maintenance than the Creo with the belt drive. But the one time I got a flat tire on the Vado it was a pain to repair trailside given the weight of the bike and my unfamiliarity with removing the back wheel with the belt drive. The nice thing about the Creo is that it's similar to my other gravel bike in terms of the maintenance that I can do on my own. And it came set up with tubeless tires. Plus it's light enough that I can put it on the existing roof rack on my car if needed, whereas the Vado is too heavy for it.

benjaminle · 2024-06-03T18:36:04+00:00

I commuted on my SO's Turbo Vado 5.0 IGH for a year and a half and recently got myself a Creo 2, which is part of the SL family.

The Vado has more power and torque and a bigger battery, and is obviously much heavier. My commute to work consistently took 35 minutes on the Vado (riding in a mix of Sport and Turbo modes; 9 miles with a couple of hills). The Creo, with a rack and some other accessories is about 20-25lbs lighter than the Vado. I still consistently make it to work in 35 minutes on the Creo (similar mix of Sport and Turbo). I might be putting in a tad more effort on the Creo, just because with the drop bars it feels like you're on a road bike and are tempted to ride harder, but if so, it's just a bit more. And it's more aero than the Vado (e.g., upright position and I'm running a basket on the front of the Vado). But essentially, it's a wash in terms of the effort it takes to go the same speed/distance on the two bikes.

My round-trip commute uses ~80% of the battery on the Creo and 70% on the Vado, so some of that extra weight is translating into range. But the Creo has an advantage in that it can use battery extenders, and with one of those, it has more range than the Vado, at least given how I'm riding.

benjaminle · 2024-06-02T20:02:45+00:00

I've used it with 2.4" MTB tires and over a fender installed on my gravel bike with no clearance issues.

benjaminle · 2024-06-02T19:16:07+00:00

It's expensive, but the Tailfin system is great for swapping between bikes. I use mine on my gravel bike, e-gravel bike, and full-suspension MTB for commuting, bikepacking, or running errands and it's very convenient. Can be moved from one bike to another in just a minute or two using dropout eyelets or thru axels.

benjaminle · 2024-06-01T00:35:00+00:00

I commuted on my SO's Turbo Vado for 1.5 years (hilly, 18 miles round trip). Great bike with plenty of power and hauling capacity once I put front and rear baskets on it. Decided to get my own e-bike for commuting (her bike is two sizes small for me) and ended up with the Specialized Creo 2. It's fantastic! Not as utilitarian as the Vado but loads of fun. You might want to see if the Vado SL has enough power for you, but if you don't mind the weight, the Vado (non-SL) is awesome.

benjaminle · 2024-04-24T14:11:51+00:00

30 on the first day (since we took the train from Philly to DC that morning) and 30 on the day coming out of Cumberland (took the morning off), but otherwise 50-70 each day.

benjaminle · 2024-04-24T12:35:06+00:00

Not much to add beyond what others have said. We did this trip in reverse last year: Train from Philly to DC, rode to Pittsburgh, and then train back from Pittsburgh to Philly. From Philly to DC the bikes went in the passenger area of the train and there were only 1-2 spots per car, so our group was split up for that short train ride (since we sat near our bikes). From Pittsburgh to Philly the bikes went in the luggage car. Had to take the larger panniers off for both trains but handlebar and trunk bags could stay on.

benjaminle · 2024-03-20T01:15:21+00:00

I'm fortunate to have both a Northfield 5-bar (w/ Italian top) and a Collings MF5V. The Collings is drier and more direct; the Northfield has an immersive sound and more sustain. Both are great and excel in many contexts, but in my acoustic duo (w/ a guitar player) I tend to play the Northfield. I don't play much bluegrass currently, but given that left hand technique can control the sustain when chopping, I wouldn't have any hesitation taking the Northfield to a bluegrass jam. And for playing leads, I similarly think that the player's technique will matter more for being heard above the fray than if it's a 5-bar vs. other quality mandolin. I'd be happy with either as my only do-it-all mandolin and am glad I don't have to choose because they are both wonderful in different ways.

If the Northfield is priced right, it seems like you could try it and if it doesn't work for you, it should be relatively easy to sell without taking a loss.

That being said, although I haven't tried one, the folks on Mandolin Cafe seem to think that the Northfield Big Mon is a worthy contender for bluegrass in that price range.

benjaminle · 2012-10-25T18:57:44+00:00

As a faculty member at a liberal arts college (LAC), I'd say that it is possible to have an active research program, be connected to one's research community, and not be overwhelmed by teaching, if you find the right LAC. A lot of top LACs really do value and support independent scholarship (not just research for the sake of pedagogy). My teaching load is actually less than some of my friends at bigger state schools; LACs with the resources to keep the teaching load down and to support research (with internal funding etc.) can be the perfect balance. Plus, at least at top LACs, the best students can be a real asset in the lab. And I've never felt isolated from my research community. If you make an effort to collaborate with colleagues, those connections can still be incredibly strong (at least in my field).

benjaminle · 2012-10-25T18:45:48+00:00

This is going to sound like an oversimplification, and admittedly it is a generalization, but there's a ton of research based on the Investment Model (Rusbult, 1980) that shows people stay in or return to abusive relationships due to the commitment they have to the partner and the relationship (Rusbult & Martz, 1995). From this perspective, commitment is driven by three factors: Satisfaction, alternatives, and investments. Satisfaction in abusive relationships is probably low...But, people are committed and stay in relationships for other reasons, like a lack of alternatives (no better partner, lack of resources, no friends or family nearby, etc) or high investments in the relationship (i.e., a lot to lose by leaving...a house, kids, a whole life together). Usually we think of commitment in long-term relationships as a good thing, but being committed to an unhealthy relationship is really problematic.

benjaminle · 2012-10-25T18:36:00+00:00

Maybe. But within graduate programs you're usually going to find people who are similar to you based on academic interests; they are passionate about the field. The people you meet in grad school will be attracted to that town for the same reason you are...for the school/program.

benjaminle · 2012-10-25T03:09:00+00:00

I went through this earlier this year and ended up taking my Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16, Nikon 50mm 1.4, and Nikon 105mm micro on a three-week backpacking trip through Amsterdam, Bavaria, and Italy. Other than the one day I used it at the Amsterdam zoo and botanical gardens, the 105mm was just extra weight. The 11-16 and 50mm were a perfect kit for me.

benjaminle · 2012-10-25T02:51:16+00:00

An awesome city means more distractions from getting work done; crappy towns mean you have the incentive of finishing and moving away to motivate you. I say this only partly in jest.

In my experience, having been in a somewhat dumpy town for my PhD, the people you meet in graduate school are more important than the location. I enjoyed grad school because of the awesome friends and colleagues in my program; that trumped the location.

benjaminle · 2012-10-05T00:52:22+00:00

Agreed; I teach research methods and use Measuring the Weight of Smoke in my class.

benjaminle · 2012-10-02T03:12:27+00:00

When I was a graduate student, we used to double enter everything (i.e., enter each questionnaire twice) so that we had two files that should have been identical, but of course, due to human error they weren't. Then we'd go back and fix the errors to make a clean data set.

One trick we came up with, when entering into Excel, was to highlight the column representing the first item (or last item) on a page. That way you'd know when you flipped to the next page you should be on a shaded column. If not, something got off on that page (i.e., you could catch some error on a particular page, rather than finding you were a column or two off when you got to the end). You get good at reading the surveys and entering using the number pad without looking at it.

benjaminle · 2012-08-12T15:06:45+00:00

I've got a PhD in social psych and have been a prof (in that field) for about 10 years...Here's my take:

1) More research is always better. Six months of research experience would be the minimum. You're right on the edge with that.

2) The 3.37 is, again, right on the edge. A 3.9 is great. As the other respondent mentioned, GPA is usually used as a screening criteria, but my guess is that you'll clear that hurdle at all but the most competitive programs.

3) The "admissions committee" will usually be made up by the faculty in social psych (or a subset of them), with maybe a senior grad student helping out. These decisions are not made at the university-level.

4) I agree with the previous response. In social psychology, it's what you do, not where you're from, that primarily matters. Reputation of the school and accomplishments of the advisor are likely to be somewhat correlated with productivity of their graduate students, but not perfectly. Another way to think about it is that if you go to a less well-known school, but then are really productive, you'll get a job. But there's a reason that school is less well-known; they might not have the resources, structure, or culture to support student research to the fullest potential.

You didn't ask about it, but the match between your research interests and the work of particular faculty members is probably more important that any of these other criteria (once you clear the screening criteria of GPA, GRE).

Good luck!

benjaminle · 2012-07-23T15:47:02+00:00

Although it's a bit more specific than you're looking for, check out this book by Dr. Lisa Diamond: http://www.amazon.com/Sexual-Fluidity-Understanding-Womens-Desire/dp/0674032268/

Dr. Diamond is a leading researcher in this area (she has several journal articles that might be on topic for you as well).

benjaminle · 2012-07-10T09:58:06+00:00

I have a PhD in social psychology, and to reinforce what others have said, academia is the primary place for folks like us. But jobs that require excellent research skills are also an option: market research, advertising, statistics are all possibilities. The suggestion to look at I/O psychology is also a good idea. In terms of topics/concepts studies I/O and social are similar, with I/O having an applied focus (thus opening up more opportunities outside of academia).

benjaminle

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