Author: Jake Toolson

is the CTO & Co-Founder of EVALS.

Weekly Adventure – Gym & Ice Cream

Each week, we try to identify an activity and/or adventure in which everyone on the team can optionally participate.  Various previous activities have involved BBQ and drinks on the patio, trail running, breakfast, and even watching baseball.

This week’s adventure involved calories – as a result of consumption, the burning thereof, and more consumption.

The outing took place at OrangeTheory Fitness, in Folsom where we participated in a 55 minute group workout session.  To begin, we all started on the treadmill and were coached when to increase and decrease our speeds.  Being competitive, some of us were blatantly obvious in increasing our speeds so as to keep up with those next to us, even if it was clearly above our daily activity constraints of 0.

Following the treadmill, we then found ourselves in the uncomfortable seat of a row-machine.  The motions involved in the rowing of a machine do not bring peace and tranquility to mind when I pretend it’s just a row boat and I’m in the middle of a stream, much like the scene portrayed by Ariel in the Little Mermaid (Talk about the worst idea for a date – going on a row boat. I’d be out of breath and tired, resulting in us being stranded).

The final stage of our workout involved light weights and a series of bizarre crunches involving a moving pad.  I ended up laying on the ground for most of this, hoping the pain and agony would evoke emotion in others to continue on through the workout without me.

Towards the end, Matt was quickly rushed a thirst-quenching Gatorade due to immediate onset of “I haven’t worked out in forever”.  So as to not look as though I too needed a Gatorade (or lets be honest, a glazed donut) to bring me back to life, I cheated on my rep counts and stared at the ceiling hoping not to see Jonny, Kathy, or Heather whom were always no fewer than 4 rounds/sets ahead of the group.

To bring things back full circle, our workout session carried over to milkshakes and frozen yogurt.

We look forward to our next session (Thank you OrangeTheory Fitness for the great workout) where more of the team will hopefully decide to join, if for no other reason, but to earn the frozen yogurt reward.

Leveraging existing technology

The importance of leveraging existing technology provides a greater opportunity with fewer bottlenecks – both in cost and implementation.

Since inception, EVALS.NET has been accessible to anyone with an internet connection and web browser.  No installations or extra components are required to fully utilize all the modules, capabilities, services, and features of the EVALS service.

To focus on one feature provided, video recording, we utilize whichever existing web browser you use and video camera.  We have researched and realized the various limitations of certain browsers and platforms and identified a cross-browser/cross-platform compatible solution, leveraging existing HTML5 and javascript technologies within the browser.  We’ve even taken this feature to a new level by developing a native iOS iPad application which makes capturing of multiple videos just as easy with even more abilities including picture-in-picture and offline recording.

As we continue to add new features while modifying and enhancing existing ones, we will strive to make the most of utilizing and leveraging technologies already used by our customers – whether administrators, staff, or students.