Lately I’ve been dabbing into personal infometrics; statistics on a personal level. Two of the things I track are the amount of caffeine I consume, and the hours I sleep. See the correlation already? Now normally speaking you would say: less caffeine during the day means better sleep at night. I now have proof that this not the case. What the cause of my lack of sleep is, is a completely different subject altogether.

However, since I track both I can correlate these 2 together and come to amazing conclusions;

As long as I consume no more then 3 cups of caffeine-holding drinks (cola, coffee etc.) a day my sleep is pretty much the same as without consuming any caffeine. I also seem to sleep more on a Tuesday-evening – opposed to a Saturday- or Friday-evening (remember; I have the Wednesday’s off)

This combined with my Positivity Ratio tracking has led to some interesting finds about my life and insights I might not have had before.

In the future I want to also start tracking my sugar-intake (in terms of cubes or spoons I consume in my decaf coffee, tea etc.) to see if there is a correlation there.

Now, if you are interested in finding out more about personal infometrics, feel free to check out these sites;
For Positivity Ratio scoring; http://www.positivityratio.com (I highly recommend the book!)
For all other types of tracking; http://www.zealog.com (in case you need an invite; please let me know in the comments as I got a few to hand out)

Just like someone I know says; if you don’t track it – you will never know the full depth and truth of it.

And my life (and insights into it) have been changed, and are changing because of it.

Keep in mind; filling in these items literally takes me 2 minutes or less a day. I used to spend (a lot!) more time on other trivial items.

Now ask yourself; what insights might it give you? Does all that working out help your weight? Do you really drink just a few cups of coffee a week? How much water do you drink a day? A week?

You never know, until you track it.

Take care, and be safe

On a personal note, I am doing good at the moment. Enjoying a 2 long overdue 2 week vacation spent visiting friends, family and well – shopping. One of the items I bought is a Samsung PL50 – a digital camera. It’s good to be shooting photos again, only this time with a small(er) one then what I already own. I’ll let you know how it works for me.

So all in all – life has been going good at the moment. Sorry for keeping it short, but well – back to the vacation for me!

Why Wednesday? It breaks the week, and not the just the working week either. It’s a break from everything, all chores, work, obligations, appointments – everything. On these Wednesday’s I do everything I want to – as slow as I want to.

If I feel like watching (recorded) TV, or reading a book in my hammock I just do it. No inhibitions, no reservations.

As weird as it may sound but for a long, long time I haven’t had one of these days. It’s good to not to worry over obligations or appointments or work or… you get the point.

I only had 2 of these days so far, but the outlook of one coming helps me through the week. Of course during the weekend I do fun stuff as well, but this? This is different. It almost feels like meeting up with a long-lost friend.

Today I spent a big chunk playing around with photos and iPhoto. Nice little app, and it was fun. Between iPhoto and Google Picassa, I’d still pick the later though.

Having said that, I do like the integration with Facebook in iPhoto. Let’s hope Apple steps up the paste in Snow Leopard, which I have in preorder

And I must admit, I’m anxious to see it. First time in a long time that I have been anxious, in a good way, about technology. I missed that. I missed being able to tinker with things, figuring them out, breaking them and then fixing it all back together.

Even as it all may sound like a big step forward, I’m realistic. It will be a long, strenous road back. But I took the first steps.

And that’s always the hardest, the first step.

Take care and be safe.

Most importantly, I am overworked. There, I said it and admitted it to the world. But more then that, I am going to ‘work’ on getting better – and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

The thing is, that is easier said then done. It will require a lot – from my end. But what makes me happy about this, is that it will require me to do the things I love again. And some form of excercise, which I admit – I am not looking forward to.

I’ll try to keep this place updated, but no promises

OK OK, I want to be doing it as well

However, as you might have derrived from the title of this post, I am installing it using boot camp  on my MacBook (and no, it is not the Pro version!)  I guess it’s a good testground for me to play around and see if I like Windows 7.

Shame / joy however is, that my main desktop will not be running Windows 7. Ever. 2 GB of RAM just is not going to cut it

Anyway, I’ll continue to post updates as they progress for those of you whom are interested in it.

Wish me luck!

Update: Just had to format the bootcamp partition. Let’s hope that is what is supposed to happen

However with the right tools and settings it can really become a lot better and user-friendly.

Note:

Some of these tips may also apply to other Operating-Systems.

Note 2:

Make sure you backup your system and files before attempting any of the below. I am no way responsible for anything that might happen, break or whichever – intentional or not. Even if you really like Vista afterwards

1. Update using Microsoft Update instead of Windows Update

   One of the first things I recommend, and I recommend that for any Operating-System is to get all the updates. Be sure you use Microsoft Update instead of plain Windows Update (How-to switch to Microsoft Update in Windows Vista) so you get all the updates, rather then just the security / critical updates.

   This will also update any other Microsoft application you might have on your computer (such as, but not limited to: Microsoft Office, Windows Live programs and so on) It means that you will get not only security updates but also the other updates (Which are not critical or a security update)

2. Get your drivers updated

   After you got your updates installed, I also highly recommend getting the correct / updated drivers for your system. Why?

   Drivers are software just like any other program on your computer. They are prone to errors, bugs and so on. These can cause sub-par performance, slow-downs, loss of services or features and in the worst case even blue-screens.

   Unfortunately there is no real definitive one source to get the drivers for your computer, but the manufacturer is a good place to start (Sony, HP, DELL, Packard-Bell and so on)

   Personally for most people I recommend going with the signed drivers rather then the latest. Yes, they may not be so fast as the newer ones, but they are stable and certified so in case you do need to call support it will save you the hassle.

3. Install Anti-Virus software

   Now I know I might spark a debate like no other here, but for all intents and purposes install an Anti-Virus software on your computer. And keep it updated too!

   There are literally tons of them out there, ranging from free to paid. McAfee, Norton, Microsoft (Windows Live OneCare), Sophos are known paid ones, and AVG, Avast!, ClamWin are 3 others that have free versions available (note: Avast and AVG also have paid versions available) Pick the one you like and use it – but most of all, keep it updated.

   Having an out-dated anti-virus programs is only marginally better then none.

4. Get rid of the gunk/junk

   Uninstall any program you do not use. Simple as that. Uninstall it and do not install it every again.

   Also, use a tool as CCleaner, NCleaner or whichever you prefer to clean up your computer from temp-files, old cookies and what not.

   And the next time you see this ‘free’ program, keep in mind that there is no such thing as free. Each program you install adds burden to your computer (very simplistically put) Keep that in mind, and really think about whether or not you need it or want it.

5. Get Norton UAC-Tool

   This is a gem. Absolutely highly recommended.

   I do not advise nor condone disabling UAC (yes mine is still active!) but I do admit it can be annoying for power-users. If so, get the Norton UAC tool at: http://www.nortonlabs.com/inthelab/uac.php.

6. Get to know the beast

   More often then not, I see people using Vista (or any other tool for that matter) in a way that is not really the way it is meant to be used. Sometimes in a way that is better, sometimes it is not.

   Just like a car, a bicycle or bike – invest some time in getting to know what it is that you are using. Do not be afraid to read a book about Vista, or take an online tutorial.

   To help you get started here are some free ones:

   From http://learning.microsoft.com:

   Clinic 3404: What’s New in Windows Vista

Windows Vista is almost here. This short, online course explains and demonstrates many of the new features in Windows Vista, to help you get you up-to-speed quickly. Learn about the new look and feel of the Windows Vista desktop, including the Start Menu, Windows Sidebar and Gadgets. Next, see what’s new in Internet Explorer 7, Desktop Search, securing your PC with Windows Defender, and managing your tablet and notebook PC with Mobility Center.

From HP Learning:

» Microsoft® Windows Vista: tune up your PC

» Microsoft® Windows Vista Sidebar: adding gadgets

» Microsoft® Windows Vista: find files using basic Search

» Microsoft® Windows Vista: use Disk Cleanup

» Microsoft® Windows Vista advanced customization: back up the registry

» Microsoft® Windows Vista advanced customization: increase bandwidth for network and internet connections

» Microsoft® Windows Vista: advanced customization

» Microsoft® Windows Vista: troubleshooting and maintenance

Keep in mind both sites require you to register (Windows Live ID and HP Learning Center ID) but are free.  I am quite sure there are far more free courses / learning materials out there, but these should get you started.

Now using the above you really should be getting far more out of your Windows Vista Installation, and maybe enjoy it a little bit more.

Let me know how it worked out for you! Sound off in the comments

It’s a simple program, and just works.

Now you might wonder why I install a program solely for copying and moving. Well I recently had to move a lot of data, and that’s where TeraCopy paid off (pun intended as the program has a free version available…) Since the computer is in my bedroom, and makes some noise – which I don’t like when I am sleeping – I shut it off when I go to bed.

Now this copy-action would take several hours, and well – that would be a bit too much as I was going to bed in less then 2. TeraCopy just started copying away, and when I turned the computer on – and told TeraCopy the next day to copy the stuff over again – it figured out what it had to do

The joy!

Some claim it’s faster then Windows in regards to copying/moving, but I have yet to see any speed improvement. I will admit thought that it has a much smarter file-distinguishing-algorithm then Windows.

Try it… You might like it. If not, well – it’s free so no money lost. Just time.

Now, which program do you use? Windows Explorer? FreeCommander? Sound off in the comments

But if you ever run into this just like me, simply plug the USB-cable of your iPod directly into your computer, and not in an extension cable.

Ding – hardware connected
Dong – hardware disconnected
Ding – hardware connected
Dong – hardware disconnected

and so on. Itunes going crazy of course… as was Last.FM. I did the above… and now it works.

Darnit!