Year: 2007

Marking Google Maps

I have to admit that I am not a power user of Google Maps.  Sure, I visit the site often to search for a parking space or a better route around Limassol downtown.  But I never actually explored the power of the application and all of its useful features.

Today I accidentally realized that I could actually place marks on the maps and share them with other people. This is more than valuable while providing someone with driving instructions or just to make sure several people talk about the same place.

In case you don’t know how to do this, here is a quick guide for you.

  1. Visit Google Maps while being logged in with your Google account. If you already have an account with Gmail or any other Google service, you can use that one with Google Maps.
  2. Click on the “My Maps” tab under the search bar on the left of the map image.
  3. Click on the “Create new map” link.
  4. Navigate the map image and zoom to find the location of your choice. Drag and drop the marker (icon with blue something right next to the icon with the hand at the top of the map image) on the location, or draw a shape around it (another icon up there).
  5. Fill in the title and description of the map on the left.
  6. Mark the map “Public” in the privacy settings on the left, under the description.
  7. Click on the “Done” button to save the map.
  8. Click on the “Link to this page” on the right side, above the map image. You’ll get the URL that you can copy and paste into email, instant messenger, or blog.

If you did everything right, you’ll have something like this – my map with a few Limassol locations.

Endless loop

I’ve been using Gmail for bookmarking for quite some time now.  It works, but not as good as specialized bookmarking applications, such as del.icio.us .  So, I’m moving many of my bookmarks from Gmail to del.icio.us .  A few minutes later, I see them coming up in my Google Reader subscriptions (I’m subscribed to my own feeds as well for easier searching).  I look through them and think “these are some cool links!  I should add them to my del.icio.us bookmarks.”.  Puzzled…

Running P.T. update

It’s almost two month since I got back to the gym.  At first I started with the same program that I end up with last time.  For more than a month I was pushing and pulling weights up and down, back and forward.  Somehow, it didn’t feel the same.  It was much harder and results were much weaker, no matter how hard I tried.  That was a bit offsetting.

Then I did something very smart.  I talked to Uncle Vova – my coach, trainer, and P.T. advisor. He resolved plenty of my doubts. Aparently, doing weightlifting in the morning is not the same as doing the same weightlifting in the afternoon. The body needs to wake up and get prepared.

Since I can’t go the gym in the middle of the day with my current time table, but only in the mornings, Uncle Vova suggested that I change the program a bit. I listened hard, but than I changed it even further for my personal feeling.

Now I just run. I go to the gym about 8:30 in the morning and I run. When I can’t run anymore, I have a small break doing some other exercises (no weights though). After about 10-15 minutes I go back to running. And that’s it. But I do it every working day (Monday-Friday) for the last two and a half weeks.

The first week that I did this, I could run only about 1-1.2 km during the first time, and then another 0.5-0.75 km during the second time. Today I did 2.25 km for the first run and 0.75 for the second.

I feel that running works better for me. My mood goes up, I’m full of energy for the rest of the day, I have no pains, and I have some gains. I see (and feel) the progress every (and I mean every) day. And progress stimulates me…

Note to myself: consult with people in the know regularly. Listen to what they say.