How to keep your computer (and yourself) happy

Well first, here’s the stuff that I have in my PC. I built it myself (ta-dah!)

• Intel Pentium 4 3GHz processor with Hyper-Threading
• Intel D915GUX Motherboard
• Western Digital 80GB SATA Hard Disk
• 2 GB of Kingston RAM
• Lite-On DVD Writer
• nVidia GeForce 7200GS graphics card with 256MB RAM
• Windows Vista Ultimate

And this is what I have to keep my computer (and myself) happy:

• Comodo Firewall Pro 3.0.22.349. This firewall is free and doesn’t consume a lot of system resources. During the first week or two after installation, it will bug you about allowing or denying events, but once it’s learnt what goes in and out of your computer, it just keeps a silent watch in the background. If you’re connected to the Internet (and who isn’t nowadays) you need a firewall.
• AVG 8 Free. Again, if you’re connected to the net, you need antivirus protection, period. I’ve used AVG 7.5 in the past, and it does a pretty good job, so does the new version 8. Just remember to keep it updated and scan through your system at least once a week. The new AVG 8 comes with built-in spyware protection as well.
• CCleaner v2.07.575. Everyone needs a program to clean through the junk files that get deposited on our hard disks every time we visit the Internet and do stuff in Windows. CCleaner is free, and does an excellent job in the housekeeping area. You can even set it to run automatically every time Windows starts.
• O & O Defrag 10. Again a defragmenting program is necessary due to the fact that Windows throws and scatters files willy-nilly throughout a hard disk. Defragmentation re-sorts and consolidates files so it’s easier for Windows to find them. Think of Windows as a very untidy teenager throwing stuff around the house; a defragmenting program is the housekeeper that tidies up after him. O & O is not free, but there are plenty of free defragmenting programs around. Defraggler is a good one to use. Defrag your hard disks at least once a week and you’ll be ok. HOT NEWS O & O Defrag 4 is now available for free! Register here to get your free copy, with no limitations.

Now where’s my coffee?

Smoke gets in your (my) eyes

Don’t know about you, but I positively hate smokers. Having said that, I have friends who smoke, and am almost always tickled whenever they sit near me and ask the famous question: “Do you mind if I smoke?”

Well, what do you expect me to reply? “Yes, I do..get lost!?” So what I normally do would be to grab the nearest newspaper I can find and start fanning away like crazy, or if I can’t find a newspaper, I’ll probably find a good excuse to get up and leave. Anything from “Oh, look at the time! Got to go for work!” or “Man, I need to go to the restroom, fast!”

What is more shocking to me is to find that people are starting this smoking habit as young as their teenage years, and usually it boils down to peer pressure. You see your friends or peers doing it, so you join in (or feel like an outcast). And there’s also the famous excuse for starting this dirty habit: “I feel stressed, so I smoke.” Duh, give me a break!

I’m pleased to say that during my years in England and America, nobody has ever coerced me to smoke. My friends take me for what I am, and that’s it. That’s the way it should be. And some of them are so polite that they will snub out their cigarette when they see me coming!

Coffee in the morning

I don’t know about you, but I’m not really myself until I’ve had my caffeine fix when I wake up. Not that I’m Mr. Hyde or a zombie or anything like that. It’s just that my brain cells have to be zapped with caffeine before they can fully function, lol.

I used to have Nescafe instant coffee here, where you had to put some coffee, sugar, add hot water and cream, blah blah. Nowadays I’m just lazy and just buy the premixed 3 in 1 packets. In the late afternoon, I have another fix, and that’s it for me, a maximum of two cups a day. I’d be asking for trouble if I had any more coffee after 7 PM; I’d be tossing and turning in bed.

How about you? It’d be interesting to know how many cups of java you guzzle down every day. Also, here’s some interesting trivia about coffee in the Nescafe website. Lastly, this website, called positivelycoffee.org (heh, I like the name) has great information about coffee, all positive, of course