Half marathon!

After the 10miler this past Sunday, I am feeling pretty confident of long runs now. A newly rejuvenated me finally mustered up enough nerve to ask Madhura to register me for a half marathon.

So she does! Its to be in DC. November 8th. The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation Race to End Women's Cancer. This is the first race they are organizing...and the first I am running! Suits both parties.

So here goes...

More updates as they are available...

Countdown Clocks, Funny Countdowns at WishAFriend.com

Ubuntu

The last few days and weekends have found me busy trying to set up and getting Ubuntu running on my new machine. Am pretty excited about getting the new laptop. Not so much for the new machine, but more so because I really wanted to try my hand at Linux. It always scared and perplexed me seeing and hearing people talk about linux this and linux that. So I found Ubuntu is an open source Linux based OS. I had given it a shot on Madhura's lappy earlier in the year but it just didn't fly then. The internet was off and I didn't have the patience to work on fixing it.
Anyways, now that I have my new playground, I installed Ubuntu 9.04, or Jaunty Jackalope, as that version is called. Now when I state 'installed', it really wasn't as simple as that. Spent a whole weekend reading up on the requirements and preping up. Created a backup of the Vista from the 'recovery drive' (D:) that HP had already created. Talked to a few people on how and what needs to be done. Not that it was much help. But I couldn't keep researching forever. Had to get my feet wet. 
So took the plunge and installed Ubuntu. That was on Sept 25th. Friday when I was my myself at home. First run, the installation failed! Disk error! I just wiped the disk clean and re-ran it. Success! 

Initial problems:

1. No sound, no video
2. Not able to see all my windows folders (music, videos, photos)
3. Pidgin (Ubuntu's IM client) not picking up my gtalk contacts
4. A slew of other not-so-important thingies (or so I think)

I was almost on the verge of giving up again. Hemant prodded me on. Installed Kubuntu too! I didn't like that either. So switched back to Ubuntu. 

Read up on mounting drives, and tweaked the system based on the forums advice and tips.

Yesterday! Finally I decide...I like it! It doesn't sound or look so overwhelming now. I should say its been fun so far.  And come to think of it, the solutions to all the above mentioned problems were so simple! Doesn't that always happen? 

Will post more info and tips as I go along on Ubuntu how-tos.

Meanwhile, for those who are reading this, give it a shot. I promise it will be a good ride. Its nice to have 'control'. Somehow Ubuntu makes me feel that ways. And I love it.  :-)

All you need is approx 5-10GB space on your drive. 512MB RAM is more than enough. If nothing else, try the LiveCD option. It is a great way to just see the system without installing it. Amazing concept! And ALL that great stuff on there is free. As they say, "free as in free speech, not free beer". Very true. But still, it doesn't cost anything to install it. I take that back. No dollars. But your time - yes. So it is not 'free', if you know what I mean. You will not lose your good ol' Windows. If you find it too difficult keeping up with Ubuntu, fret not. Dual boot will get you back to Windows and life will be as it was earlier. Go ahead, give it a shot. Atleast then, you could have said, "I tried Ubuntu." :-)

It has come a long way from what people construe Linux as. The user interface is very very appealing. And its safe. No more viruses, malware, spyware. "What about my documents/photos/music that I played on Windows?", there are a slew of open source applications that come preinstalled with Ubuntu. OpenOffice for MS Office, Rhythmbox for your music and videos, GIMP for your photos. All these applications have come a long way from the days gone by when most of them were really messed up. And best of all, I believe, your computer does not 'slow down' as time passes. That, in my case, time will tell.

There are thousands of developers out there tuning and making Ubuntu the way it is now. Some day, I hope to contribute as well.

Post me any questions you have and I will surely try my best to answer them. I am still a newbie. But try, I shall.

Mint.com

I was at Malli's and was reminded of coming up with the expense report for our Shenandoah trip. And I was like...ok..alright...I will get to it when I can...

That's when Malli suggested this awesome site: Mint

I wonder how and why I did not come across such a wonderful and helpful site. Did I forget to add FREE?

I saw so many other tools/sites/programs charging exorbitant fees for far less and complex stuff than Mint.com.

It takes literally minutes to set up. Just provide it with your login and passwords to your accounts. It is safe, don't you worry. It does not ask for your names, your SSN, or your personally identifiable info and no money can be transferred in or out. Its just a 'read only' reporting tool.

You can set it to retrieve your bank balances, credit card balances, loans, real estate, car(s) and investment accounts. Further settings can include the APRs, interest rates, monthly fees, and email alerts.

So, I set up my accounts and it retrieves my balances and transaction activity very accurately and charts them out beautifully in charts and reports.

(Click on the image to get a better view)

As I browsed about in the site, it did not stop surprising me with the great stuff it has to offer. Suggestions to save, performance of my investments vs the DOW, suggestions to roll over previous IRAs, my spending trends, categories of my expenses. You can set up your budgets for different expenses and this thing tells you if you are on track, over budget or if you need to slow down! It suggests credit cards, banks, CDs, brokerage firms and IRA rollover suggestions!

So much so that, depending on how you set up your alerts, it can send you emails/sms' to alert you that a particular credit card bill is due. Imagine that!

A couple more screenshots might help you understand why I LOVE this site: (click on the pics to enlarge and view them better)

Now this is something, I really think everyone should know. Helps with consolidating all your accounts and tells you if you are screwing up...or getting screwed. A nice way to manage your money. IMHO.

Thanks Malli!

Running log and journal

So I decided last week that I am going to keep a journal of my runs. From the looks of it, this might be a little more than just a passing whim. So I started this new blog: Running Indian. Lucky I found that name not taken (not too many indians running out there eh?). 
Also found this good site to map my run: MapMyRun. Cool site. You can keep a record of your workouts there and pull out maps to embed in your blogs. Have embedded this first map...just for kicks.

I hope the journal serves its purpose of keeping me focussed. Let's see how it works out.

Craigslist scam

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Antique Tables Made Daily?!

Huh? Am I missing something here or is this a valid oxymoron? Found this on our way back from Shenandoah.

Goals?

After I put my status up on FB announcing my 10K achievement, Swapna asked a very simple but relevant question: "What are you training for?" A casual question, no doubt. But it got me thinking. Have I set a goal for myself? Running goals? Short-term goals? Long-term goals? Anything at all?

I used to do that. Remember? I guess I did reach most of them, if not all. And then complacency set in. Or fear of the uncertain, hence the future, hence fear of setting goals. Deep?
That was a good awakening call. 

The first 10K!

Yay!!!! I did it! My first official run! The 10K in Lorton, VA on September 12 2009! The feeling is like none other!
The day was perfect. We reached in time to collect our packets and warm up. I started the race really really slow. I was worried about my shin splints. I had the shin and calf sleeve on and was in my old shoes. (Am a little skeptical of the new Nikes). I guess the combination of the sleeve, old shoes, proper warm up and the ultrasound I'd done last week helped. Minimal splint pain...or rather tolerable splints I should say. The terrain was pretty hilly, I should say (or 'hillier' than I practised). But somewhere midway, I thought, it's okay...just let go and stop. But for some reason I didn't. It was nothing to do with 'saving face' or determination or anything of the kind. I just went on I guess. Good for me!
I badly wanted to finish the race within the hour. Even during the practice runs, it never occurred to me to go beyond 60mins. But I finished in 61:23. So a little disappointing, but very satisfying I should say. Hey! You got to see where I come from. A little शाबाशी certainly is due. :)
Madhura and I finished at exactly the same time.
And this thing IS addictive. I cannot wait for the next one. Where? When? Did not register as yet.
Just for posterity, here's a snapshot of the results:

A nice sumptuous breakfast followed by good sleep and a movie in the evening with wife and friends. Nice!

Running

I have been running for the past 10 weeks now. Madhura got me this great book: "The Beginning Runners Handbook - The Proven 13-Week Walk/Run Program".
It has motivated me enough to stick to its plan for the past 10 weeks! Can you believe that! I am following it every bit. So much so that I have bought a pair of dedicated running shoes!
Frank is the only marathon and ultra-marathon and 100 miler I know of. I always thought marathon runners were some kind of legendary figures. You know...the ones you see on TV and thats that. He's guided Madhura to stick to her plan and she's run a 5K and a 10K in Michigan. But then, well, she doesn't need much prodding to stick to plans anyways. Unlike me!
One fine evening Madhura kicked my butt on one of her casual run days. I found I just could not run. All those months (or has it been years) of inactivity, puffing and drinking did no good to my lazy muscles. So I am like..."Let's try this. I am going to give up anyways. Since I am home, it will at least tire me enough to help me sleep. Once I land a project and am away, its all going to fizzle away."
But I am holding on! For 10 weeks! Inspite of the move and all the hullaballoo. 3 more weeks to go and I should be able to run a 10K (6.2 miles). Groovy! Me talking of running 'miles'. I sincerely never believed I could run more than 1.5 miles. How did I arrive at that number? That was how much I could do after huffing and puffing for 20 minutes and on the verge of collapsing on that darned treadmill! But that program's put me here where I can now run 5 miles for sure! Kudos Amit! 
Problems so far? Let me put that up in another post. What say?
I found this cool iPhone app and site to log your runs too. That too in some other post.
Madhura's egged me all the way, so far. She's registered us to run for this event on Sept 12th - South Fairfax Chamber of Life Without Limits 10K run. And I am nervous as hell. Just have to stick to the training plan and I think I should be able to get to the finish line. Conscious.

Bollywood songs on your iPhone

We all know that there are not many iPhone apps out there (actually, I didn't find even one) that plays Bollywood songs. Even Pandora does a pathetic job. Thats sad! Considering such a growing population of desis using the iPhone. Did I just give away a good App idea to a developer? :-)

But then, we, as always are resourceful, aren't we?

Check out m.dhingana.com. You gotta go through the Safari browser.

Lo and behold! It's a beautiful and easy interface right there.

What I like? You can minimize Safari and do other stuff. The songs play in the back ground. Except, of course, if you were to access the internet, and the songs stop.