How to make Mint faster.

After I installed Mint 12 (aka Lisa) I found that it took me about 10 minutes to boot and most programs took about a minute to start. Briefly I wondered if the copious amount of crap that went wrong with the netbook (its an AO D150) when it was running Windows 7 could have been to blame. A quick DuckDuckGo search later brought this article to my attention and the instructions worked like a charm. Hopefully it will help if you guys are having the same problem.

Of course at this point in time I have no idea what "swappiness" is or why that worked but I shall be doing a bit of reading on the topic.

EDIT
I found this link that explains why the steps outlined in the above article may have worked.

30 Day Challange: Week One, Day Two

I actually finished yesterday but I was bushed so I forgot to post my scores =_=
If you'd like to attempt the workout here's the demo and you can find the breakdown and recommended equipment here.

It took me a bit longer than 12 minutes but I managed to finish it. Banzai!

1. 10 x High Knees & 10 x Mountain Climbers - 32
2. Squat Jumps & 2 x Push-ups & 1 x Tuck Jumps - 3
3. Centre to Elbow Jump (L&R) & 2 x leg jumps - 5
4. Clean & Press & Squat & Press & Push Up - 3
5. Tuck Jumps x 5 & ½ Burpee & squat hold x 5 - 2
6. Spider Knee Push up & Straight Leg Push Up (L&R) - This one was difficult for me so I did Push ups on Knees instead - 24
7. Switch Lunge & Press (without bag) - 16
8. Side Lunge x 2 & L & R Side Punch & 2 Tuck Jumps - 7
9. 10 x Squat & 10 x Squat Jumps - 1
10. Elbow to Knee jumps 10 x each side - 2
11. Wide leg jumps & Push up - I have weak knees and elbows (at the moment) so I did Prison Squat Jumps instead - 30
12. Speed run - I managed to do the whole 50 seconds =^_^=

Today Lisa-Marie introduced the concept of power words. The idea is that every day we should choose a word that describes our frame of mind at the time, a word that will inspire us to push hard and complete the workout.

My word of the day was Courage because after I saw Lisa-Marie's demo I became scared because it looked so much harder than it was and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to do it but I kept my word in mind and got through it. So yay me!

Links of Interest (02.01.2012) and a Happy New Year to you all!

So before I start off the LOI this time I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! See cute picture above. Today I was introduced to the concept of Fukubukuro which is basically a New Years day custom where merchants create bags filled with random items which are then sold at substantially reduced prices. I really like things like these it makes me wish I lived in Japan.

• An a capella version of the Jackson 5's The Love You Save. As I listen to him singing this song its brings a tear to my eye to think that I will never see him perform again.
• A partial clip of Deepak Chopra discussing religion, cyberspace and spiritual health at a meeting in Noordwijk in 1997. Regardless of what you may thing of him as a person I'm sure we all can agree that there is a ring of truth to the things that he has said in this clip.
• Do you think that religion has made the world less safe? Here's a thought provoking article along that vein.
• I find it strange the lengths that celebrities like Angelina Jolie go to in the name of humanitarianism yet there is very little publicity on their efforts. Why is this you think? Here's an article that showcases the contrast between the attitudes of our leaders as opposed to the ones that we deride as being narcissistic and self indulgent.
• I'm the kind of person who has an unreliable memory. A few days ago this article showed up in my news feed. Its surprising to see such unexpected things are able to affect our memories.

30 Day Challange: Week One, Day One

I've been watching videos at BodyRock.tv for around a year but I had been unable to start previously because I didn't have enough room in my previous place to store and use the equipment not to mention the fact that I suffer from MS which can make regular exercise difficult. As a result I found myself gaining weight rapidly in between periods of frequent exercise which as you can imagine was extremely discouraging for me. This year I decided that I wanted to do more with my life as I have been cooped up in my house for a few years and I'm tired of just existing. I let my illness suck the life out of me so to speak. I noticed that the  community at BRT is very supportive so I finally decided to give it a try.
Wish me luck.

So here are my results;

1. Squat Jumps - 21
2. Push Ups - 5 normal, 15 on knees
3. Burpees - 10
4. High Knees - 90
5. Switch Lunges - 9
6. Tuck Jumps - 7
7. Straight Abs - 6

And here's the demo. More information can be found here.

After the exercise (I did manage to get it done just before 12am but boy am I exhausted took a while to catch my breath >.<) I realise that I've got weak knees and my back is a little iffy too.

Today's exercise came in pretty late so I'm not sure when I should exercise next hm...I think I'll just stick to doing them around midnight for the rest of the month.

Well at any rate, I'm quite proud of my self for finishing it, for the most part I substituted the beginner moves in lieu of the more advanced ones that Lisa was demonstrating and it made a big difference in how I felt at the end of the work out. Tired yet happy, I am super excited about what she'll have planned for tomorrow and on that note I shall now retire to my bed.

Good day to you all!
<3