slice of koh

I’m sure there are many people like me who wants a smartphone that covers both functionality and looks.  The problem with the IPhone is that I need a physical keyboard.  The problem with the Blackberry is that I do not want to be like everyone else in my office.  I decided to switch to a G1 in January and was pretty satisfied with it.  After a few months, the sub-par battery life and clunky form factor started to bug me.  When Palm announced the Pre, I was understandably excited.  To my disappointment, they were going to launch on Sprint.  (They still exist?)

The hype started to build, and many techies claimed that this phone is truly an IPhone/Blackberry contender.  I actually considered switching to Sprint once my contract ended with T-Mobile in August.  According to the Gizmodo Liveblog, Jon Rubinstein confirmed that a GSM version is coming in a few months.  I had to read it a couple times to confirm.  This bit of news actually made my day.

I just had a physical today and confirmed the realization that I will have to drop some weight in the next few months before marathon day on October 11th.   As I look to regulate my diet while spending thriftily, I decided to search the Internet for tips on how to cook wholesome and healthy meals on the cheap.   This does not even include all the flags I placed in my magazines.

Considering that I work in consulting, cooking is an unappreciated luxury in time and effort.  I actually enjoy cooking because it is satisfying to cook your own meal.  There is also an added benefit of having complete control exactly what you put into your meal.  Unfortunately, the combination of working many hours and freezing weather did not encourage me to make my own meals, so I gained some unwanted weight.  Now that the marathon is only a few months away, I will be dedicating my Wednesday and occasional weekend blog entries on using the Internet for motivation and guidance for nutrition and training.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yelp Eats! is at it again.  As soon as I made a vow to change and regulate my diet to run the Chicago marathon, Yelp presents another opportunity for me to open my wallet with $25 prix-fixe 3-course meals.

There are some old favorites (HB, Uncommon Ground, and La Madia), and some new restaurants that I wanted to try for awhile (Blue 13, The Stained Glass, and Oceanique).  If you have a similar event in your city, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Now that the weather has been getting much better in Chicago, I started to do my running outdoors.  Running on treadmill/elliptical is definitely a lot different than running outside.  I actually prefer running outdoors because I tend to get really bored while running inside.

As I’m always looking to try more apps on the G1, I figured that there must be an app that would track running routes via GPS and Google Maps.   JogTracker was the first result on my search results.  It was slow to load at first, but it actually works pretty well.  Using the GPS and Google Maps, it will track the time and route.  You can pause/resume and stop at any point and can upload your runs to your JogTracker account.  You can share your routes with your friends or look at others’ routes if you want to try something new.

Overall, it’s a simple app that is easy to use.  I definitely recommend this app if you are looking for something to keep track of your runs.  I just wish that my G1 is smaller and easier to carry around.

I’m not sure whether Roddenberry would be rolling in his grave, but the new Star Trek movie was basically “okay”.  It was a so-so plot mixed with above-average special effects.  It was fun seeing all the old characters like Spock, Kirk, Bones, and Uhura come to life (albeit they look a lot better too).   

Read the rest of this entry »