I logged into my Blog!

I'd forgotten all about this thing.

Hello

:)

New Changes

Last night I made a few changes to QuestionSwap. Just rejigged the homepage using the fancy new MasterPages available in ASP.NET v2.

Just need to cache the results of the LeaderBoard and the Forum so the database isn't getting hit to badly on every page load.

As expected, people don't like change, but it isn't that major. I won't ever be able to please everyone.

Rain

Due to last nights rain in London, I didn't go jogging. It's a nice feeling. You're all dressed up ready to run, and then it starts chucking it down. And it's getting dark. Oh well - you think. You don't feel guilty, just relieved.

I seem to be working round the clock at the moment. Lots of work for a large multi-national I've been freelancing for for the past few years, and then home to work on other projects. I'm currently building a web application that will allow customers to send and manage newsletters. Currently it's a joke. One site I built (but not run) has a subscriber base of about 15,000. Problem is, about 3ooo of these bounce back. This cripples the server, and shuts down all the sites hosted on it. I needed something that would let emails be managed, and bounced emails gracefully flagged so as not to attempt again. That should clean up the list, and reduce the bounces to a minimum. It starts off easily enough, then you realise you need a page to add this, and then a page to edit that, and then delete stuff. The pages of the application soon pile up. And I never write anything down on paper. So everything is planned in my head. Sometimes the best ideas come to me in the shower. A little lightbulb will appear over my head. Then I realise that it is an actual lightbulb, and my bathroom is much too small.

Let's just hope it doesn't rain tonight...

Nike 10k Run

Some of you may remember me starting an exercise routine a fair while back. I was a bit overweight, and felt very unhealthy.

My first run was for 10 minutes. I nearly died. I only ran round the block at a very slow pace. The muscles in my legs were in pain, and my lungs struggled. I kept needing to spit. I got to the end and was very glad it was over. I hated it.

I've stuck to it though, and I'm still running 3 times a week. The increases have been slow and steady, and I've been adding on a couple of minutes a week. I can now run 5km pretty comfortably in 25, 26 minutes.

I also signed up to do the Nike 10km run in October. It's quite good. You get a little chip to tie on your laces that tracks your times. You're able to attend training runs where there are lots of Nike staff to motivate you. You're even able to trial new pairs of Nike running shoes. I tried a pair of Nike Pegasus for a 5 km run. I handed them back and the guy gave me a coupon with the model and my size written on it, and a 20% discount. I got to hand it to Nike, they're clever marketers.

So tonight I'm going to try to ramp it up a little. Do a 45 minute run at an easy pace. Get my legs used to running a long distance. Once you're been running a few months it becomes quite enjoyable. It feels nice when you can feel improvements in your body. Sailing past a point on a run that only a few weeks ago you had to stop and take a breather.

And the results? Not bad. I've lost about 8kg. Still another 8 to go before I reach a level I'm really happy with. But I'm getting the odd compliment that I've lost weight which is always nice.

So, if you're thinking of starting up running, have a go! The first 3 months are the worst, and then you hit a nice stride. The weight starts to fall off, and your legs strengthen up, and your lungs open up. Just take your time. Set yourself a 6 month goal.

Good luck and all the best!

Adam

ps - anyone actually read any of that?

Back to reality

I don't have an awful lot to say, but according to my statistics there are about a dozen of you who regulary check this blog to see if there have been any updates. So here you go! Exciting isn't it?

Being an Australian I was kind of shocked about Steve Irwin. It was a weird sensation. I never met the bloke, never sat through an entire episode of his TV programme, and never really thought about him. So when he died the news was shocking, but not for the reasons normally associated with hearing about a death. Actually, I have no idea what I'm talking about. I had the seed of an idea, and I hoped that if I typed about it, it would sprout into something elegant and meaningful. So much for that idea.

What else? Let me talk to you about London. It's one of those cities you can truly love and hate at the same time. When you're reading about murders, and you see all the litter and filth, and you see the over crowding - you hate it. But when I go back home to Melbourne I find myself missing the place. Missing all the stuff to do. And there is a strange feeling of pride of living in a city that draws so many tourists. If they all are all coming here, there must be something good about it right?

QuestionSwap passed the One Millionth Question the other day. Quite a milestone. If I had have known I'd reach the million mark in just over 6 months I would have done things a lot differently. Probably would have tried to run it more as a business. At times the site has been more of a nuisance than anything. But, right now I'm feeling motivated, so watch out for some cool changes.

One final thing to write about - what's up with Boots and their meal deal? For those that don't know, Boots is a popular chain of chemists here in the UK. They have been running a meal deal promotion for quite a few years. But it seems that little by little, they shaft you. They cut the size of the orange juice bottle from 500ml to 330ml. Then you get about half the amount of sushi. Then, today, no more cashew nuts. They are a bunch of thieves. And they sell a lot of quack products like homoeopathy and copper bracelets. But I'll save that rant for anther day...

Here is me in Dubai eating Lebanese food - my favourite..



Thanks

Adam