2 Cool Sites for Runners
So, I am not much of a runner, but I know people who run so I routinely get exposed to cool tools that are used by these folks. The first was introduced to me by Kelly. It's called "
Map My Run," and allows you to map out the course you plan to run in your neighborhood and tells you how long the distance is going to be. Its cool because you can create the route, turn-by-turn rather than just inputting a start and finish and letting the computer figure out the best route, this way if you want to follow a winding path on your run you can make an accurate route.
The other tool I came across while reading the
Red Eye on the train this morning. Its called
jogtunes.com. This site allows you to coordinate your songs on your mp3 player to match the pace of your workout. It helps you calculate your workout pace in beats-per-minute so you can choose the best tracks to get you through your run.
With cool stuff like this, it almost makes me want to get into running. Yeah, right, almost :P
Labels: exercise, gadgets, sports
Well, there is less than a week left until the big March of Dimes Walk America event here in Chicago. Thanks to the outpouring of
generosity from friends and family I have been able to exceed my goal of raising $500 by nearly $200! I will have to admit that I was a little nervous when I set my goal at $500, but I obviously underestimated the support of my friends and family. Unofficially, I was able to raise the second largest amount amongst the
HCSC participants, behind the VP who is sponsoring the event internally. I am so proud of everyone who was involved in reaching this milestone!
With that being said, I still have a week to raise even more money, so if you are reading this and would still like to donate go to my fund raising page at:
http://www.walkamerica.org/HeathPort and place a donation on-line. It's easy to do and goes to a great cause. I will try and include a blog post after the walk to update people on how it went.
Oh, What Can Change in a Year
So, as everyone knows, the New Orleans Saints had a "Cinderella" year last year, going all the way to the NFC Championship game only a year after winning only three games. In one off-season, this organization was able to clean out the bad characters on the team, bring in some strong talent and leadership, hire arguably the most dynamic new head coach in the league and give a down trodden city a spark of hope. The Saints were truly a feel good story coming out of nowhere last season to be come the darlings of the NFL. This year it will be interesting to see how much of that love and good will, will still be flowing as the Saints enter the year as one of the favorites to win it all. My guess is that there will still be some folks that will be pulling for them, but most teams and fans will be starting to root against them, because now they have proven themselves as a great team that can win on any given Sunday. Yes, this year will be tougher as teams now know to bring their "A" game against this team. The 2007-08 scheduled just came out and I am predicting that the Saints pull off a 12 win season and continue to lead the league in offensive statistics. Next up the NFL draft. I am thinking they will need to draft a stud cornerback, but we will see what is available when their turns comes around at the end of the first round. Gueax Saints!
Ok, so I came across this
article on CNN.com by Roland Martin proclaiming that Christians need to take back Christianity from Christians. It really wasn't what I thought it was going to be about, but I found it very provocative and true (at least in my humble opinion) on many levels.
I think he has an extremely valid point on how the extreme Right puts way too much focus on a few hot button topics and seem to spew hate where ever they go. Now, I am no theologian, but I believe the teachings of Jesus Christ were meant to be ones of peace and love, not hate. The way some of these extreme right wingers sling hate rhetoric around really disturbs me and I truly believe its people like that that keep others from embracing a religion like Christianity. Lets face it they are the ones we see on the news and political talk shows all the time. Martin is right that these groups only seem to focus on a couple of topics but where is the push to help the homeless and starving, the education system, the uninsured? Why alienate others when you could embrace them and be good role models?
This article really got me thinking about things I never realized before, and to be totally honest, I am by no means the guy that goes to church every Sunday. In the past few years I think I have avoided it because there was always something that rubbed me wrong about the church, something almost hypocritical about it. I think this message from Martin points to that. Anyway, I thought it was interesting and a good point, not that I agreed with 100% of what he said but I think the overall message was relevant.
Preach on brother Martin!
What Accent Do I Have?
This is a quiz I took. Kelly and I were talking about accents the other day and she posted this quiz on her blog. I decided to take it. As a suspected, I have no accent. Take that Chicagoans! You are the ones that talk funny!
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio. |
| The West | |
| Philadelphia | |
| The South | |
| The Inland North | |
| Boston | |
| North Central | |
| The Northeast | |
What American accent do you have?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz |
Well, one week after I started raising money for the March of Dimes - Walk America event I have already reached my goal of hitting $500. Thanks to an outpouring of generosity from friends and family, we were able to collect over $500 dollars to help the March of Dimes save babies! Currently my fundraising page says $285, but this is not including money that has been pledged that I still need to collect from people. I still have several weeks where I can continue to collect money so please feel free to pass the site
http://www.walkamerica.org/HeathPort on to others that may want to donate. There is no rule saying that I need to stop raising funds once I hit my goal so feel free to spread the word!
Honestly, when I chose the $500 goal I was a little nervous about hitting it, but I was shown how supportive my friends and family are and how generous they can be for a great cause. For those of you who read this blog I want to thank you. Your big hearts and
generosity will go a long way to helping save numerous lives!
Labels: Charity, March of Dimes, Walk America
