New Years Update

Happy New Year everyone!

I did my farthest run so far with the Nike Sports Kit -- 506 cals, 43 mins, 5.93 KM. I proceeded to break out in a rash afterwards. Nice. If anyone has a Sports Kit as well, let me know...I want to join/create a challenge group.

Amanda and I, along with Lacey and Aaron, will be joining some of my classmates at Earl's for dinner tonight and then we will be proceeding to the Ivory Club (formerly the Druid South). It is now a piano bar, so hopefully this will negate any chance of us being stabbed, shot, punched, or kicked.

2007 will be bringing a lot of change to my life. I'll finally complete my university at the University of Alberta after 8 solid years of education. I may be moving to a new city in another province depending on the results of the CaRMS match. I'll also be planning our wedding with Amanda, even though she's the event planning pro, so I doubt I'll have to worry too much about that! Amanda and I will also be taking our first real vacation together to Disney World in May, and, then, we'll be stopping over in Michigan for Dom's high school grad. It looks to be a busy year, but, as I've said before, odd-numbered years are usually good luck for me. So let's bring on 2007 and get out of 2006!

Nike+ Sports Kit

One of the big reasons that I purchased the iPod Nano rather than a iPod Video or another brand of MP3 player was due to the Nike+ Sports Kit, which I saw a commercial for on TV...or a movie theatre...I can't really remember. I guess advertising works.

Anyways, the Nike+ Sports Kit, available for $39.00 at the Apple Canada Store, is a two part device. The first part is a transmitter that you put in your Nike+ shoes (or you can buy an holder off eBay if you don't have Nike+ shoes), and the second part is a receiver that plugs into your iPod Nano. Essentially it's a pedometer with a lot of extra features. It's apparently much more accurate about distances, etc, than a pedometer, and you can actually calibrate it (which I haven't done yet.)

The device keeps track of distance, speed, calories burned (by entering your weight), and time. It allows you to set your goal for the run, and will update you on how close you are to completing your goal. For instance, I set it to burn 300 calories on my run today, and it told me about every 100 calories how I was doing, and it updates it more frequently as you get closer to your goal. You can also press the center button on your iPod and it'll give you an update at that time as well.

Probably the coolest part of the whole thing is the actual nikeplus.com website. When you sync your iPod with iTunes, iTunes automatically sends your workout information to the nikeplus.com website. It keeps track of all your runs, monitors your progress, and lets you see how you're doing against the rest of the world via the "Leaderboard." It also allows you to set goals, such as running a certain number of times in a set time period, running a certain distance, running a certain speed, etc. It keeps you updated on your goals and lets you know if you're falling behind.

Another cool feature is it lets you see how you did throughout each run, such as your speeds throughout the run (ie when you slacked off) or when you pushed yourself. It even keeps track of when you used your "power song" to push yourself a little harder.

So, all in all, I'm very happy with my purchase right now. If a little $39 device gets me off my ass and lets me get back into shape, then it's worth it!

On a similar note, I bought the Nike Armband for $39 off the Apple website as well. It's a bit pricey, but I really didn't want to buy a cheap one off eBay and have it absorb all my sweat and ruin my iPod. At least I know the Nike one is made for running and the material keeps the moisture away from my iPod.

iTunes and Outlook 2007 Issue - "Could not install the custom actions"

I love errors...no, I actually don't. I just seem to get a lot of them. The latest one has been occuring with Outlook 2007. Everytime I would try to reply, forward, or open a message, I would get an error saying "Could not install the custom actions", and then the window would open up anyways with no apparent ill effects. I also noticed that I could no longer bring up the right-click menus when right-clicking on a message.

I went searching on the internet and didn't find much except the fact that other people were having the same problems, but no solutions could be found.

I began to think what I intsalled lately, and the only thing I did install that interacted with Outlook 2007 was iTunes for my iPod.

Anyways, it turned out that as soon as I disabled the iTunes add-in in Outlook the problem was solved....

Here's the detailed and easy fix to the problem:

1. Open the "Trust Center" under the Tools menu
2. Click on the "Add-ins" section
3. At the bottom of the screen, click on "Go" when the COM Add-ins are selected
4. Unclick the "iTunes Outlook Addin"
5. Hit OK

Problem solved.....but now I can't sync my calendar + contacts with my iPod...boooo....

Holiday Review

Happy Holidays everyone!

It's been a busy holiday season so far. Last Friday Amanda and I went to Adam Ritchie's annual Christmas party, which was fun as per usual. Saturday was a lie-around day, which included an appetizer fest at my house with my parents. I love the jalepeno poppers. Can't get enough of them...no matter how sick I get.

Sunday was Christmas Eve, and we went out to my mom's cousin's cabin out at Pigeon Lake. Too much food, one (and one too many) drinks of Wild Turkey, and the annual gift exchange. I walked away with a meat thermometer. YES. I actually wanted it. It's sweet.

Monday was Christmas Day and we had breakfast in the morning with my grandparents. It was good. The afternoon/evening brought us to my Uncle Rod's house where we dined on turkey, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, corn, stuffing, cabbage rolls, perogies, pickles, and two desserts. Wonderful. We then watched the Jets vs. Dolphins sleep-fest. Who knew offences could be so inept?

I went to Sportchek, CD Plus, the Bay, Futureshop, and Superstore today on Boxing Day. I picked up some new running shoes at Sportchek and the Arrested Development Season 1 DVDs at CD Plus. We had bought a lot of stuff on the futureshop.ca website for their boxing sale, which I'm glad we did, because the store was just jammed packed and all the good deals were GONE. If you're looking at things on the futureshop.ca website and it's not in stock, don't worry, they usually re-stock a couple of times a day...you just have to go back and keep checking. My mom picked up a nice 6MP Casio digital camera for $169 ($130 off), and my brother bought a new desktop computer, 20" widescreen LCD monitor, and 25 DL black DVD's for $25. I bought a CD wallet for $4. Huge.

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well. Amanda and I don't have any plans for New Years, so if you're doing something cheap, let us know!

iPod arrives!

I got my first iPod today -- I purchased a refurbished 1st generation iPod 4GB Nano for $169.00. I also ordered the Nike+ Sports Kit and the Nike Armband, but they haven't arrived yet. I was very, very impressed with the speed of delivery...I ordered it on Tuesday night and it came today at about 1PM...and I didn't pay anything extra for shipping...just normal shipping...good deal!

I also downloaded my first podcasts through iTunes...I got a running podcast with some upbeat music, and I subscribed to the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, Cancer News in Context, and UT Internal Medicine. It's pretty neat...I'm actually really impressed with the UT Internal Medicine podcast...it's like a lecture on a topic each week. Pretty cool.

I bought a docking station and AC adapter off eBay today because I didn't want to pay the over inflated price from Apple for their accessories...ie....off eBay it's $15, and from Apple it's like $80 for essentially the same thing...probably not the same quality...but, hey, it's pretty tough to screw up a power cord and a docking station....and I'm not paying $40 for a power adapter....

I'm also going to have to buy some headphones for this...because the earbuds just don't stay in my ears well enough when I move around...anyone have any suggestions for some good deals?

Exceptional deals on iPods (Canada only)

Looks like all the refurbished iPods have been restocked at the Apple Canada online store. They have some exceptional deals on iPods....take a look at the prices...

• iPod Nano 1GB - $99.00
• iPod Nano 2GB - $119.00
• iPod Nano 4GB - $169.00
• iPod Video 30GB - $209.00
• iPod Video 60GB - $259.00
• iPod Colour 20GB - $139.00
• iPod Colour 30GB - $169.00
• iPod Colour 60GB - $229.00
• iPod Black and White 20GB - $115.00

Free shipping on all orders over $99.....

Great deals on iPods here from Apple.ca!

Dell's 12 Days of Deals

Dell's 12 Days of Deals.

Shipping is free and very fast!

Day 11 (December 17)
Dell W5001C 50” Plasma HD TV - $2999
Sony DCR-SR40 30GB HDD Handycam Camcorder - $599
Dell 1710 Laser Printer - $119


Day 9 (December 15)

Creative Labs 4GB Zen V Plus Video and MP3 Player - $149
Pure Orange Sports Aqua Mouse - Toronto Maple Leafs (or choose 1 of 5 other teams) - $24
Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype - $169


Day 8 (December 14)
Dell E207WFP 20” Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor - $269
Dell 2407WFP 24” Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor - $699
APC BE750BB Back-UPS ES 750VA - $59

Very nice price on the 24” LCD. The lowest I’ve ever seen it. They also have a special a pre-configured Inspiron 6400 laptop which will arrive at your door within 24 hours for most major cities. It features a Core 2 Duo T5500 processor, 1GB RAM, 120GB hard drive, and 15.4” screen, for $1149 with free shipping.

Day 7 (Dec 13):

Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Notebook Mouse - $59
Philips HTS5800H 700W HDD and DVD Recorder Home Theatre System (plays DivX)- $349
Sony MDRIF240RK Wireless Infrared Headphones - $59

They also have a special a pre-configured Inspiron 6400 laptop which will arrive at your door within 24 hours for most major cities. It features a Core 2 Duo T5500 processor, 1GB RAM, 120GB hard drive, and 15.4” screen, for $1149 with free shipping.



Day 6 (Dec 12):

SEAGATE 400GB 7200RPM Barracuda 7200.10 Internal SATA Hard Drive - $159
LINKSYS WRT54GL Wireless G Broadband Router - $49
CREATIVE LABS Live! Cam Video IM Pro - $29

They also have an Inspiron 6400 laptop with a Core 2 Duo T5500, 1GB RAM, 120GB HD, and 15.4” Screen, for $1149 with free shipping.


Day 5 (Dec 11):

DELL E197P 19” Flat Panel - $179
NINTENDO DS Lite Holiday Bundle (New Super Mario Bros + Brain Age) - $179
GARMIN Nuvi 350 Pocket or Vehicle GPS Navigator - $499

Orders placed today, should arrive in time for Christmas.


Day 4 (Dec 10):

DELL W2306C 23” LCD HD TV - $599
DELL W4201C 42” Plasma HD TV - $1999
TARGUS Explorer 15.4” Backpack - $39

They also have a desktop and a laptop on sale:
Dimension C521 Desktop w/ 19” LCD - $699
Inspiron 1501 Sempron Notebook - $649


Day 3 (Dec 9):
DELL W3207C 32” LCD HD TV - $999
BELKIN PureAV 8ft. HDMI A/V Cable - $49
DELL 3007WFP 30” Wide-Screen Digital Flat Panel - $1399

They also have a desktop and a laptop on sale:
Dimension C521 Desktop w/ 19” LCD - $699
Inspiron 1501 Sempron Notebook - $649

Day 2 (Dec 8):
MICROSOFT Microsoft Xbox 360 Gaming Console w/ Gears of War, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged - $449
PLANTRONICS Discovery 645 Bluetooth Headset - $79
CREATIVE LABS 30GB Zen Vision: M MP3 Player - $239

Day 1:
LOGITECH Harmony 880 Universal Remote - $129
KINGSTON 4GB CompactFlash Elite Pro Memory Card - $99
KODAK Easyshare V603 6.0MP Ultra-Slim Digital Camera - $199

Car broken into

My car was broken into on Sunday night/Monday morning. I thought that I might have left the passenger side door open, as there didn't appear to be any damage to anything else, but upon further review it appears that they busted into my passenger side lock to get inside the car. They ended up taking my car wash tokens...and that's it....very strange. They also made the inside of my car a mess.

Anyways, I'm quite sick of all the property crime in my area...my mom's car has been broken into twice in the past 3 months, and we had a whole bunch of break ins to our vehicles about a year ago.

If I were running the criminal justice system, you could bet that people would start thinking about the consequences before they did all these horrible things...there just doesn't seem to be any deterrents for people committing the crimes...just a slap on the wrist and they're back doing the same old things.

Engagement Announcement

I asked Amanda to marry me tonight, and she said yes! We're planning on getting married in the summer of 2008.

We're celebrating my brother's birthday on Saturday night at the Thirsty Turtle, so if you want to come celebrate, come stop by!

CaRMS application submitted!

About 2 months after I started my CaRMS application, I have now finally submitted my final application. Now I sit and wait to see if I get any interviews at the place where I applied. I guess we'll see what happens!

I don't have much left in the way of rotations....just 2 more weeks of family med, 2 weeks of geriatrics and then 6 weeks of surgery...kind of scary when you think about it!

Travelling to interviews across the country is going to be ridiculously expensive...but I guess that's life.

Last days in Kingston

I'm in the Toronto Airport right now eating some Tim Hortons (Chicken salad sandwich + Chicken Noodle Soup + Peach Drink). It's easily the cheapest place in the airport, and, my whole meal was only like $6.50. Can't go wrong. I thought the Toronto airport would have wireless internet…they don't…at least not in terminal 3. Oh well. What can you do.

Geoff and I went out with a couple of his friends last night. We went to the Queen's pub, had a few pints, then proceeded to go and watch 'Elf' at a friend's house while sippin' on some gin and juice. We arrived back at Geoff's house around 1:30 a.m. I think, which gave me a solid 5 hours until I had to get up in the morning. After the 5 hours of sleep, I didn't feel so hot, meaning headache, plus shaking, plus dizziness. This reminded me of why I don't drink very often. I don't do well the next day.

Geoff drove me to the train station, where I proceeded to purchase and eat a Costco double chocolate muffin and 500mL of water. The water did make my head feel better, but the muffin is no substitute for greasy McDonalds.

After 1 episode of the Office watched and the Beatles "Love" album listened to, I arrived in Toronto, where I promptly proceeded to Harvey's and had a Double Bacon Cheeseburger combo with fries and a pepsi. That made me feel better. Love the grease.

I then proceeded outside of the train station to look for my shuttle to the airport. I missed the first one because I was standing on the wrong street, but a nice gentleman informed me exactly where I should be catching it. 30 minutes in the cold later, I caught the shuttle to the airport and breezed through check-in and security.

I now noticed that might flight to Calgary is going to be 30 minutes late. This will make my connection in Calgary quite tight (~30 mins), so hopefully everything works out and I get home tonight!