Give him/her health

I believe that the most important thing we have in life is our health. Without good health we cannot enjoy all the other things we have. Hence, I would like to begin the list of my Xmas gift recommendations with some technological and sports apparel that would contribute to a healthier body.

Less than a year and a half ago we were at a shop choosing new bikes for our kids. The shop had, placed next to all sizes of bikes, also some treadmills. Since we never manage to go to a gym and exercise a bit, we decided to buy one for our house and chose a model that is in the upper middle price range so that it neither looks like a toy nor is extremely professional. I admit, I was against the idea of buying one, thinking it would occupy a lot of space and after the initial period we would forget about it as we did with the indoor cycling bike. Luckily, I was wrong. I discovered that walking and running on the treadmill can be a lot of fun and a leaner body comes as a free gift.

Do you know someone who could use some exercise? Is there someone around you that loves jogging and you want to make him/her a gift? Do you like running/walking with a good pace, but think it is dull and need to make it more fun? Then read on! I will tell you all about my apparel and gadgets that made the treadmill fun for me.

It is true, treadmill is a very monotonous thing. But here is how you can enjoy working on it (or make your loved one enjoy it):

✔ Get yourself some real training outfit (choose the colorful ones so that they put you in good humor). Being a huge Nike fan I can suggest you stuff like Nike's specialty clothing for running. I have the Nike dri-fit capris and the high impact sports bra, and believe me, they are fabulous.

✔ Good running shoes are a must. Again I trust Nike for it. If you go to a Nike shop, trained personnel will help you choose the running shoes that best fit you. Did you know that Nike has a specialty running site? On that site you can also find your perfect shoe by answering some questions. I did it and found my dream shoe: Nike Lunarglide! I feel so comfortable running/walking in these shoes that I bought two pairs, one for indoor training and one for outdoor activities. I highly recommend them. They are light as feather!

✔ Music! Good, very rhythmic music is essential. While you are running, listening to some music that you like, which puts a smile on your face, acts as a boost. I find the music of Black Eyed Peas very stimulating. You should choose the music that makes you move, that makes the blood boil in your veins. In this way you just cannot help dancing on the treadmill. Be careful not to fall off ;-) Training is supposed to be fun. As long as you enjoy it, you come back to do it again. Otherwise it becomes a burden and after a day or two you will forget about it. This is how it works for me at least ;-)

To start running of course you do not need a treadmill. If you have the possibility right outside your house, put on your shoes & suitable running clothes, start the music on your MP3 player and there you go. The world is your gym :-) Hence, if your loved one does not have a treadmill in his/her house, you can always convince him/her to run by presenting him/her some attractive apparel. If that person is tech-savvy and appreciates technological gadgets I have more recommendations.

I am not only a Nike fan, but also a big Apple products fan. If the person whom you would like to buy a gift for, has one of the new generations of iPod nano, iPod touch or iPhone, then you should introduce him to the world of Nike+. These are the products which you should consider buying:

✔ If (s)he has an iPod touch or iPhone, all you need is a Nike+ sensor . Once this sensor is placed in the sole of the left shoe of a pair of Nike+ shoes and paired with the iPod touch/iPhone, you are ready to run listening to your favorite music in the background either using your earphones (especially when you are training outdoors) or connecting the iPod touch/iPhone to your stereo or a dock station for iPod. iPod touch and iPhone has built-in support for Nike+ sensor. The Nike+ sensor can be used on any kind of running shoes with the help of a shoe pouch. 

You don't want to run with music? Then get the Nike+ SportBand, wear it around your wrist, and go! You can see your pace, the distance covered, time and calories burned.

✔ If (s)he has an iPod nano, the gadget to get is the Nike+ iPod sport kit which includes not only the Nike+ sensor but also a wireless receiver for iPod nano.

✔ Lately Nike announced that the Polar Wearlink+ heart rate strap communicates with your Nike+ Sportband and iPod nano so that you can follow your beats per minute.

For me, the nicest thing about Nike+ is that it gives you the possibility to follow your progress in time on the Nike+ site. You become a member of the Nike+ community. Each time you synchronize your iPod/iPhone, iTunes automatically sends your latest training results to Nike+. When you log in to your account, you can choose to share your Nike+ activity with your friends broadcasting on Facebook and/or Twitter. You can set goals, make training plans and take part in challenges in Nike+ community. Using the Nike+ software on your iPod/iPhone, you can decide whether you want to run for a fixed time, fixed distance or fixed amount of calories burned for that training instance.

My last recommendation for training today will be the DVD 30 Day Shred of Jillian Michaels. You must have heard of Jillian Michaels. Well, I had not. But thanks to a dear friend in USA I got introduced to her 30 Day Shred program and I am a witness that it works! All you need is a mat, a pair of dumbbells of about 1 kg each (or two 1/2 liter bottles of water), a DVD player (or your computer) and 20 minutes per day!

Happy training everyone! Do not forget to check my Nike+ Mini here ;-)

What is next?

As some of you might have noticed I am doing some changes on my blog. It was in limbo for over 2 years and I decided that it was high time to revive it. I started with the design first and it is still under construction (the artist of the picture behind the title is my daughter Iris and, of course, she drew me in front of my laptop). I also wanted to make a change in content. I will not be writing here as if I am writing a diary any more. I will only write about my recommendations for places to see, things to do, books to read, recipes to try etc.

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Whether we like it or not, soon we will all begin to think about Xmas gifts for our loved ones (and non). I am one of those lazy people that leave the gift shopping to the last weeks and get in panic. This year I plan to act rather early. It is advantageous to begin thinking about gifts now because you can spread the shopping in 2-3 months instead of concentrating all the expenses in a couple of weeks. With these in mind I decided to start with a series of recommendations for gifts.

Come back again soon to read my 1st post on gift ideas! And, hey, if you do not like my recommendations, you can always:

Need a job?

If you are on the look out for your next job, I am sure you are familiar with many web sites that allow you to register your CV and/or search for jobs. Most of these sites let you apply immediately on line as well.

For people that are computer scientists like me, or are more into engineering, research & development, academical jobs, here is a short list of sites that I myself keep visiting on regular basis. Some of the sites are specialized whereas some are more general job search sites. If you know of other sites that could be useful for me, do leave a comment about it. Thanks :-)

academics.com I found this site recently. It is a German site, however there are job offers from Austria, Switzerland, Sweden as well. The jobs are mostly of academical type, but some private companies advertise, too. Once you register and create a job filter they email the results to your address.

monster.com I think everybody has heard about monster.com.

jobserve I am registered to this site and everyday I receive emails of jobs in UK and USA. This site has jobs from all over the world.

EURAXESS Jobs  This is the jobs page of the EURAXESS site, the official site of European Commission for the mobility of European researchers. Research positions and fellowship announcements all over Europe.

matchtech UK based site specialized in engineering, science and construction recruitment.

I will keep adding sites here...

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In a silent area, walking distance to European University Institute, cycling distance to the city-center, 2 mins to the bus-stop; loft/open-space apartment, 90msq, restored, big windows that allow a lot of light to come in, big living/dining area, kitchen fully equipped (oven, glass-ceramic cooking plates, microwave oven, refrigerator, dishwasher), storage/laundry room with washing machine, parquet floors, bathroom with marble floor, bedroom with big double bed and bedside tables, walk-in closet, study area; air-conditioned, autonomous heating, satellite antenna, cabling for surround sound system, safe, alarm system; available NOW preferably for long term rental (min. 1 year contract); suitable for single or couple (1 bedroom, 1 bathroom)

I'm mad as hell

1 billion people live in chronic hunger in the world. Please sign the petition to put pressure on the politicians to end hunger.

Thanks!