rossgilmore.com

Please vote for Kate and me in Crate and Barrel’s The Ultimate Wedding Contest.

You can vote for us by visiting our entry page or by visiting our wedding page.

Kate and I thought it would be fun to enter… and who knows what might happen! Thanks!

I ran less than I would have liked the past two weeks. This was mainly because of the combination of a long July 4th weekend and a nasty bruise from a tackle during one of my soccer games. I am glad I rested up though and still got in one long run. I bought new shoes as well and that reenergized me. In total I ran 5 times and I also played 5 soccer games over the last two weeks.

I ran only once before July 4th weekend – a solid 5.6 mile run at a good pace. I was a slacker and didn’t run once while at Wintergreen for the 4th, and I was especially looking forward to the challenge of the hills. I ran two times early in Week 3, then got a bad bruise on my shin in my game Wednesday and took 2 days off. I bought new running shoes on Friday and went for a quick 3.5 mile run to break in the shoes and loosen up.

My long run of the week(s) was a 9 mile run through Richmond. I ran down Forest Hill Ave to the Manchester Bridge/9th street, then west on Main street to Byrd Park and over the Boulevard Bridge. It was a beautiful Saturday – a bit hot for a run – but I never realized how many hills there are in Richmond. It’s ridiculous! I think hills are great for training, but they really take some energy out of you. I’m not that disappointed with my pace time given the heat, slacking off on training, and soreness. I’m just happy I completed the run. The final stretch was over the Boulevard Bridge and up the steep hill to New Kent Dr, which is great training for the final stretch of the Marine Corp Marathon…

I ran on Sunday with Kate. This was great for my legs and we did some (more) hill training.

Week 4 and 5 are looking to be my favorite for training, as I will be running in Oahu and Maui, Hawaii..

Week 2 & 3 Training (click on Run # for more detailed information)

I started with a 3 mile run. This was a typical loop I do around my neighborhood with lots of hills. My next run was just 4.5 miles and very similar to my first run.  The long run of the week was done in Northern VA on Saturday morning.  Kate and I ran the W&OD trail (well, she started it with me).  I loved this trail – it’s very well organized, has minimal interference with traffic, and easy to run on. 

Week 1 Training (click on Run # for more detailed information)

When I joined CapTech a few years ago, one of the coolest perks from the start was getting a smart phone. We were originally given a Sprint PPC-6700 (horrible), then a Spring Treo 700wx (slightly better), and after being fed up with a slew of crappy phones, we were issued a Sprint Blackberry 8830. Beyond the obvious perks of having wireless internet, instant messaging, and fun games, I realized one of the best features of a smart phone was Outlook Exchange integration. Using Microsoft Outlook, I could input all of my contacts with detailed information and it would sync with my phone. It also synced my calendar as well. This means no more losing all your contacts when you get a new phone/break your old one, as well as being able to edit and add contacts on the fly.

Outlook gives you the ability to upload pictures with each of your contacts as well, so when they call you their picture pops up. I initially uploaded pictures for several people years ago and have had a few incidents where a person would call and someone would see my phone and ask, “Why is that picture coming up?”. OK, so maybe I had a picture of my brother with his ex-girlfriend and his current girlfriend saw it…

The other day, I thought “There must be a way to sync your Outlook contacts with your Facebook contacts”. After some searching, I found the program: Fonebook. Fonebook is a simple application designed to connect to your Facebook account, download all your contacts, and sync them with your Outlook contacts. It gives you the ability to import their picture as well as birthday (it will NOT allow you to sync phone numbers or email addresses, as it’s against Facebook policy). It even allows you to schedule automatic updates so that you can get your contact’s latest facebook pictures.

I highly recommend this program for the fun and novel feature of adding your contact’s pictures to your phone/Outlook. The program is extremely easy to use, fast, and efficient.

Link to download Fonebook: http://ross.dargan.googlepages.com/fonebook:download

2008 has come and gone. Hello 2009! Like every other American, the end of the year marks a time to reflect back on the previous year and strive to make a change for the upcoming year. I’ve never been big on New Year’s Resolutions — while I’ve made plenty of them in passing, I’ve never made a strong effort to keep any — but this year is a little different. I feel motivated. So what exactly are my resolutions, you might ask?

1. Get back in top shape
   Yes, the most stereotypical New Year’s resolution of them all.. but it’s my biggest one.  There is zero reason (laziness doesn’t count) for me to not be in the gym and working out consistently.  I’m near (what I believe is) my peak age physically.  I’m going to try to go to the gym 4-5 times a week in addition to playing soccer regularly.
2. Read more books
   I really enjoy reading.  I always have.  But I never make time for it.  The only time I read — and the last time I can remember finishing a book — is when I’m on tropical vacations at the beach or the pool.  While traveling to Missouri, I discussed recent books with my coworkers and realized how much I was missing out on.  My goal is to alternate between reading fiction and non-fiction books.  What am I starting with?  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Freakonomics.  Typical, I know.
3. Update and continue working on rossgilmore.com
   This one may be the most difficult

With the release of Halo 3 (which is unbelievable and worth another post at a later time) and games such as Team Fortress 2, Guitar Hero 3, and Rock Band coming out, I’m planning on playing a lot of video games in the near future. But having a girlfriend and a job always take priority over gaming… right? BBspot created a hysterical flowchart to help you decide if you should continue playing your video game..

(image source: BBspot)

Joy, Cari, Sprad, and I have completed the 2nd Annual Men’s Health Urbanathlon. The race was much better than last year and, with the addition of Danielle and Katie, we had a great weekend in NYC..

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This weekend I will be running in the 2nd Annual Men’s Health Urbanathlon. Like last year, Sprad and I are running it together. Joy and her friend Cari also decided to make the voyage and will be competing as well. Danielle and KV will be also be coming along to offer their loyal support.

As for the race, they shortened it this year — only 8 miles as opposed to 9.91. They’ve also changed some of the obstacles, getting rid of the A frame (thankfully) and the stupid Rock Wall. The newer obstacles don’t look difficult and should be fun. The best decision they made, however, was moving the race to Saturday morning instead of Sunday morning. Why is that, you might ask? Now we can party all day and night Saturday!

While I’m in overall better shape this year then last year, I did not train nearly as much as I should have which should make for an interesting race. I’m really looking forward to the race and spending a fun weekend in NYC.

Went to my first Nascar race this past Saturday and had a blast. We started tailgating at 10:00am up until the race at 7pm. Danielle and Baggio came into town to party with the rest of the Richmond kids. Nascar is quite the experience, I highly recommend you check it out..

It’s 5:45am. Sprad’s phone alarm continues to go off. It’s dark outside and raining. Sprad hits me a few time, murmiming something about “Time to go”. I immediately think to myself “why did I enter this race?”. Sprad and I stumble towards the Metro. We miss the first train that we were supposed to take. Whoops. We get on the second one. After arriving North of Central Park – both our first time in Central Park – we hurry through trying to find our way to the race. After a little warm up jog, we arrive at the starting line while they’re announcing “The race will start in a few minutes!” We looked for Baggio, but couldn’t find him. Probably should have gotten there a bit earlier..

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This is part 1 of my NYC recap trip. I figured I’d write first about the weekend – excluding the race – and talk about what we did on Friday and Saturday. (more…)

Since I’ve gotten my Ipod Nano + Nike, I’ve run 18 times for a total of 78.47 miles at an average total pace of 8′25″ per mile. I’ve also been to the gym quite a bit, doing both lifting and cardio, as well as running stairs. Do I feel like I’m prepared for the race? Yes. Did I do everything possible to be in the best shape? No, but I’m actually satisified with where I am now. I’m in good shape, I’m eating healthy, and I’ve even lost a few pounds. Now I just need to make sure when the race is over I continue this trend.. (more…)

At the beginning of this week, Facebook rolled out a few large, noticeable changes. Besides some little graphical tweaks, they implemented a new feature and two new feeds – both of which I really enjoy. But why are people so down on them?
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I’ve played in random fantasy football leagues for the past few years. Usually, they are setup through the frat or friends and aren’t very serious – most of the time, half the people in the league don’t even mess with their team after the first few games. Needless to say, this sucks. This year, the “who dat” league graciously invited me to join as the 12th man. The league consists of mainly New Orleans kids, as I know Britton (the commissioner), Tessier (the commissioner to be), Beau, and Terry. This past weekend we held our Live Fantasy Draft.
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I’m working as a consultant for Circuit City now, and I’m definitely enjoying my work. The people I work with, particularly CapTech people, are great. But in learning the in’s and out’s of consulting – of which I have a lot to learn – I’ve already seen some headaches.

I found this cartoon on digg.com, and thought it was hilarious. Apparently it’s been circulating for quite some time now, but something this novel never gets old.. (click to see the larger image)

YouTube has exploded as one of the most popular and visisted websites on the internet. Whether it’s hilarious home made videos or a clip from a TV show, there is plenty to watch and see on the site. I’ve added some of my videos taken over the years.

Here’s a video of Tyler flying on the Manta Ray and getting huge air at his riverhouse:

For more of my videos, check out my profile: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=r0ssta

In an effort to get in shape and really challenge myself – as well as have some fun along the way – I’ve entered the 1st ever Men’s Health Urbanathlon in New York City. Sprad told me about it a long time ago, and ever since we’ve both wanted to enter. The registration was Wednesday, and we’ve both paid and submitted our application! In training for the race, I decided to buy the Nike+Ipod for my Ipod Nano. I have less than 2 months to get in shape…
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After a phenomenal (and last) summer, I’ve moved to Richmond, VA. Two weekends ago, my generous and loving family – including Brian, Joy, Linus, Mom and Dad – helped me move two Uhauls full of furniture to my apartment. For an entire weekend, they helped me clean, move in, and get settled. Thanks guys! (note: pictures of the apartment to be added soon!)
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On Sunday, May 21st – my last summer vacation ever (at least until I’m 65 – where it’s summer year round) began. Now, nearly a month and a half later, it’s over. What was I up to? Being productive, studious, and hard working? Ha…yea right! I managed a trip to Cedar Point, Cancun, and a cruise on the Caribbean with lots of leisure and fun in between!

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