One of the first problems I ran into was having trouble tracking my running or cycling – at the gym, the machines that I use would clearly display your distance, your speed, calories burned, etc and I missed that when just cycling or running around my neighbourhood. Knowing that my iPhone has a huge arsenal of apps available to it that would probably do just that, I asked around and received three great answers: RunKeeper, iMapMyRide, and MotionX GPS.

Here is the quick and dirty run down of the pros and cons of using each:

RunKeeper

Pros
- Simple and easy to use interface
- Tracks everything beautifully
- Gives you all the details clearly and neatly
- Great integration with RunKeeper.com

Cons
- No music control (Not really an issue)
- No sharing in-app

iMapMyRide

Pros
- Works quite well
- Accurate
- Web integration

Cons
- Not very intuitive user interface
- Website is just cluttered and ugly
- Registered as metric, still measured as imperial (Didn’t auto update in settings)

MotionX GPS

Pros
- Works well and accurately
- Detailed information
- Email sharing works very well

Cons
- Ugly user interface, very cluttered and not intuitive
- Email sharing works but is riddled with advertising

—

Overall, all three of the apps were accurate and worked as desired, but iMapMyRide and MotionX GPS were both so clunky and did not have intuitive user interfaces that I decided that they just weren’t for me.

At the end of the day, I decided to go with RunKeeper for its well designed user interface and fantastic integration with runkeeper.com, a beautifully designed website that shows all of the information you could ever ask for and much more. I know this is a really quick and brief post without many details but it really comes down to preference – all three apps I have listed have Lite versions (They’re what I used!) and you should make the judgment call for yourself.

Happy exercising!

That brings us to tonight, because I just came back from watching Shutter Island. I will not spoil it for you, but let me tell you: it was depressing. There are no heroes or villains per se, but I got my terrible ending. Of course, I don’t mean terrible in the sense that it was bad, not at all. It was a very well executed movie and I loved every minute of it, but it was genuinely depressing.

So, am I happy that I finally got my depressing ending? Well, yes and no. Yes, because it feels amazing to finally see a not-so-happy ending done so well. And no, because obviously, it’s hard to be happy when you’ve seen something so depressing.

In conclusion, let me just say: Martin Scorsese, you are a genius. Your movie was somewhat predictable, but you pulled it off magnificently. Well done, you’ve managed to realize what I have always wanted from a movie.

Thank you for making me depressed.

Allow me to elaborate.

One of my acquaintances, who shall not be named, appears to have a constant facade in play. They are a fantastic networker because of their ability make small talk, but will come off as somewhat fake due to their facade. Having conversations with this acquaintance can be a rather difficult experience, because they do not feel very genuine, even when it is a personal one-on-one conversation.

This is somewhat of a stark contrast to my own behaviour. In a professional setting, I usually try my best to create real conversations that have a bit more depth to them. It may not always work and people may not always connect with me, but I refuse to change that just to make networking easier. This is exactly how I am with my friends, and I feel that it is appropriate for professional settings as well.

So I asked myself, should you really behave all that differently between “personal mode” and “professional mode”? I don’t expect people to be acting boorish and idiotic around professional events, but who would you rather deal with: a master of small talk, or a conversationalist?

Weigh in with your opinions, please!

Cooking meals and cleaning up are probably two of the more menial tasks while on a retreat. The chef usually gets last dibs on food and the dish washer has to physically handle the leftovers and messes that other people create. During the retreat, I spent a lot of time cooking the meals for my team, and my fellow Co-Chair, Bilal, spent a lot of time washing the dishes.

But hold on for a second, why are the Co-Chairs doing the least rewarding and most time consuming jobs when they could have delegated it off to the other executives there? What was everyone else doing?

Well, that’s easy, and it’s a pretty accurate analogy of how the LIVE team works. Bilal and I did a lot of the heavy lifting for the cooking and cleaning because our roles are to make the lives of our executives easier, so they can focus on the main objective.

In terms of the retreat, the main objective was to relax, bond with the team, and of course, have fun. Did they accomplish that? I certainly hope so!

For the conference, it will be much of the same. Bilal and I will take care of the trivial and possibly messy tasks, to ensure that our super star executives can keep focus on the objective at hand: making LIVE 2009 the best undergraduate business conference in Canada.

Bilal and I will get our hands dirty to ensure that the executives have the drive and determination to succeed. In turn, I hope our executives will get their hands dirty to ensure that the delegates of LIVE 2009 get blown away by the conference.

Will they succeed? Hell yeah, that was never a question. The real question is, what heights will they take it to?

I can’t wait to find out.

Today after a run at the gym, I took a look around at the other runners. I was surprised to see the amount of waste movement that many runners seem to have, which greatly affects their endurance and stamina. Now let me just say, I’m not a champion marathon runner, but I do know a thing or two about running.

Let me describe an efficient stride as best as I can:

• Shoulders are set and are not moving
• Arms are swinging forward, not side to side or diagonally
• Entire upper body barely moves
• Knees kept low
• Running heel to toe with the feet

The main emphasis of the efficient stride is very minimal movement of non-necessary appendages. But of course, the message behind this post isn’t on how to run more efficiently, but you saw that coming.

Many people seem to go through life doing trivial and wasteful activities. For example, I spend a lot of time worrying. Worrying about academics, extracurriculars, friends, family, and basically everything under the sun. It’s a very tiring endeavour, similar to running inefficiently. How would you make life more efficient?

Analyze. Look through what you spend a lot of time doing, and really think about it. Is it helping in your personal growth? Is it helping you advance in your career? Does it help you meet your goals? If not, why are you doing it?

Plan. My friend Cheryl Ho lists four helpful tips on how to better manage our time, and it’s a great start. Allocate time for your priorities and remain proactive. Your life is in your control and if you plan wisely and stick to it, your wasteful activities should be minimized and you will notice an increase in productivity.

You would be surprised at how many wasteful activities you will find in your life, and you only ever realize during crunch time. With proper analysis and planning, crunch time will be more manageable and you will be less stressed.

So what are you waiting for? Cut the fat and run like a champion!

Check it out, especially the video of Sir Ken Robinson and his talk at a TED conference from several years ago. I will leave you with a quote that stuck to me:

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” – Sir Ken Robinson

Lately, I’ve noticed quite a few people who do not even attempt to open the door for themselves, and seem to demand that I open it for them. I do not know these people.

Plenty of people seem to expect doors to be opened for them, more so than in the literal sense. They want everything to be done for them, and are not willing to get their hands dirty to get what they want.

But if you can’t open the door for yourself, why do you think I would do it for you?

Yes, I am pretty serious about it. It would be a clothing line that starts off with mostly hoodies with funky designs and patterns, because that’s exactly the kind of clothing I want. Still in the process of making a few designs and finding a place to get it done or doing it myself!

Stay tuned for progress!

For now, I guess I’m going to become hyper-focused, and complete all the work that I need to do ASAP, so I have a little more time to do what I want to do.

To Do:

1. Complete all projects and assignments
2. Ensure timelines for LIVE 2009 are on schedule
3. Complete MESA Gala videos
4. Get a co-op placement

Want To Do:

1. Get cracking on PHP/iPhone development
2. Produce a short film
3. Build my Hackintosh

It’s going to take an enormous amount of focus on my end, and I’m going to get everything done. Wish me luck!

By the way, the answer to the last Trivial Trivia was 4615972308.

From:   devprograms@apple.com
Subject: Re: ADC Membership
Date: February 17, 2009 4:28:41 PM EST (CA)

Wait a minute, when did I send my e-mail to Apple?

From:   devprograms@apple.com
Subject: Acknowledgement of your email/submission
Date: February 6, 2009 9:14:05 AM EST (CA)

Oh, good thing you’re quick with your responses, Apple.