Just after five days of exercise (out of which the first day was more like a trial run) with Wii Fit I already see the first results. These are actually the second results from the workouts because the first ones were the great feeling I have had for the last five day (coincidence? I think not!).
The visible results then? I have had a nasty bulge at my lower abdomen which together with stooped back have given me a bad posture. The stooped back I have been able to more or less correct even before buying Wii Fit, but the lower abdomen bulge that I haven't been able to tackle.
Well, now that I have done jackknives for couple of days and some parallel stretches for the past two days my deep abdominal muscles have been reawakened and the bulge is just about all but gone.
Man I feel so good! Even the slight headache I had yesterday felt distinctively different from those I have had for couple of years more or less most of the time.
On a side note: My wife is doing her exercise there now. Where as my training has consisted of morning yoga and evening muscle workout her's includes aerobic exercises with a little yoga and muscle workout on top.
Right now she is doing the freestyle rhythmic steps which is pretty good for all of you who do not want to miss your favourite tv-show! Just start the exercise, switch to tv-channel and keep working, all the instructions are told via wii motes speaker as well as the rhythmic tic tic sound.
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Sunday 27 April 2008
Never Felt Better
Well, maybe I have but I can't remember when.
Because of combination of many things (my work, hobbies, health condition etc.) I tend to have stiff shoulders/neck/back and these tensions tend to give me horrendous headaches. For the last two day however I have had stiffness none what so ever. I have felt really good.
So what has changed?
My morning workouts. Yesterday morning I had a 42 minute workout and today just a little over half an hour. From both of these about ⅓ has been yoga and the remaining ⅔ has been muscle workout. Compared to the couple of minutes of swaying hands like a windmill the difference has obviously been tremendous.
Let us see what happens during the workdays when I plan to split the workout for morning yoga and afternoon muscle training. I hope the yoga can help me keep my back and shoulder open for the day and the muscle training will give me to physical workout I need for good nights sleep.
For now, I really truly love our Wii Fit.
Because of combination of many things (my work, hobbies, health condition etc.) I tend to have stiff shoulders/neck/back and these tensions tend to give me horrendous headaches. For the last two day however I have had stiffness none what so ever. I have felt really good.
So what has changed?
My morning workouts. Yesterday morning I had a 42 minute workout and today just a little over half an hour. From both of these about ⅓ has been yoga and the remaining ⅔ has been muscle workout. Compared to the couple of minutes of swaying hands like a windmill the difference has obviously been tremendous.
Let us see what happens during the workdays when I plan to split the workout for morning yoga and afternoon muscle training. I hope the yoga can help me keep my back and shoulder open for the day and the muscle training will give me to physical workout I need for good nights sleep.
For now, I really truly love our Wii Fit.
Saturday 26 April 2008
Memory Expansion
Every now and then we all have issues with our memory. We just don't seem to be able to remember all the things we should. For that there are, some people say, little pieces of paper and such to scribble notes on. Well...
I don't like those little notes. They are hard to keep organized in your pocket. In case of misspelling correcting the error is a pain even at it's easiest, when you don't need to note any more you toss it away creating waste. Etcetera, etcetera. Therefore I would like to have an electronic memo. All the thing written down in one place, easy to organise (I hope), easy to rewrite and reusable.
So what could come to my aid? I dug up my old Nokia 9210 Communicator but it doesn't work any more. I thought of buying a new one but the price tag of ~800 € isn't that tempting. Buying any other electronic device ain't that much cheaper either. I would prefer something that I already own.
Nintendo DS to the rescue! For that device is versatile, Opera web browser has proven that much to me. That could work as a notepad for me, since it has rather good system to recognize handwriting. But alas, it doesn't quite work offline! So something else is needed. And when there is a will there is a way.
Homebrew software is the answer. There are already some txt editors for DS and on a brief search I found this: TxtWriter. Now I just have to figure out what, from where and how much.
I don't like those little notes. They are hard to keep organized in your pocket. In case of misspelling correcting the error is a pain even at it's easiest, when you don't need to note any more you toss it away creating waste. Etcetera, etcetera. Therefore I would like to have an electronic memo. All the thing written down in one place, easy to organise (I hope), easy to rewrite and reusable.
So what could come to my aid? I dug up my old Nokia 9210 Communicator but it doesn't work any more. I thought of buying a new one but the price tag of ~800 € isn't that tempting. Buying any other electronic device ain't that much cheaper either. I would prefer something that I already own.
Nintendo DS to the rescue! For that device is versatile, Opera web browser has proven that much to me. That could work as a notepad for me, since it has rather good system to recognize handwriting. But alas, it doesn't quite work offline! So something else is needed. And when there is a will there is a way.
Homebrew software is the answer. There are already some txt editors for DS and on a brief search I found this: TxtWriter. Now I just have to figure out what, from where and how much.
Friday 25 April 2008
Reality Check (Courtesy of Nintendo)
Two words: Wii Fit. Couple of more words: I am in stinky shape. Both literally and imaginatively.
We bought one today and naturally it needed to be tested. My wife and I created a a profile for each and performed the initial body test. We both scored 41, which is +9 years for her and +11 years for me. Again, I am in stinky shape.
Next we tried some of the activities, she tried out the aerobics for half an hour. Got sweaty and enjoyed. Then I tried muscle exercises and yoga for about 45 minutes (out of which 22 minutes was active workout, the rest was spent watching tutorials and browsing through the menus). Got sweaty and enjoyed. My balance is all over the place, so the yoga poses proved a bit difficult for me, but I genuinely believe that the Wii Fit will help me regain my balance.
I can see me doing the yoga poses on daily basis to keep my headaches cause by stiff muscles at bay. I think I will revisit this topic later on.
We bought one today and naturally it needed to be tested. My wife and I created a a profile for each and performed the initial body test. We both scored 41, which is +9 years for her and +11 years for me. Again, I am in stinky shape.
Next we tried some of the activities, she tried out the aerobics for half an hour. Got sweaty and enjoyed. Then I tried muscle exercises and yoga for about 45 minutes (out of which 22 minutes was active workout, the rest was spent watching tutorials and browsing through the menus). Got sweaty and enjoyed. My balance is all over the place, so the yoga poses proved a bit difficult for me, but I genuinely believe that the Wii Fit will help me regain my balance.
I can see me doing the yoga poses on daily basis to keep my headaches cause by stiff muscles at bay. I think I will revisit this topic later on.
Thursday 24 April 2008
Favours for Friends
After giving a careful thought or two regarding friends I came to conclusion that I am more than willing to give up my own comfort to do a favour for a true friend.
Being an engineer I had to break this to pieces and figure out why. While this is still an ongoing process I have found several reasons. These reasons, not quite surprisingly, depend on the person I am doing the favour for. The most general rule however is that if slight addition of discomfort for me means that the friend of mine gets some load off their back I am willing to do so.
Simply because the slight addition of discomfort to my state of well being doesn't really mean that much since most of the time I feel like crap to begin with. So the relative decline in my well being is a small one compared to the potential positive effect to be had for the friend in need.
Luckily(?) for me, there aren't that many friends that I count into the category of true friends. There are couple of friends that are on transition from "mere" friend to true friend and for these friends I am more likely than not to do these favours.
Being an engineer I had to break this to pieces and figure out why. While this is still an ongoing process I have found several reasons. These reasons, not quite surprisingly, depend on the person I am doing the favour for. The most general rule however is that if slight addition of discomfort for me means that the friend of mine gets some load off their back I am willing to do so.
Simply because the slight addition of discomfort to my state of well being doesn't really mean that much since most of the time I feel like crap to begin with. So the relative decline in my well being is a small one compared to the potential positive effect to be had for the friend in need.
Luckily(?) for me, there aren't that many friends that I count into the category of true friends. There are couple of friends that are on transition from "mere" friend to true friend and for these friends I am more likely than not to do these favours.
Wednesday 23 April 2008
Signs of Summer
There is an old Finnish proverb:
"Kuu kiurusta kesään,
Puoli kuuta peipposesta,
Västäräkistä vähäsen,
Pääskysestä ei päivääkään."
Puoli kuuta peipposesta,
Västäräkistä vähäsen,
Pääskysestä ei päivääkään."
A rough translation could be:
"In a month of lark's arrival comes the summer
Half a month after chaffinch
Only a while from wagtail
Not a day from swallow"
During last week a saw a couple of wagtails, so the summer is practically around the corner.
What other signs of summer might there be? Especially for a urban person who might see the migratory birds, not to mention recognize them.
First signs of the summer are the skateboarders. They appear to the street as soon as the snow has melted. After that hem of the coats start getting shorter, especially for the ladies. Around the same time first roller skaters brave the streets that are still covered with sand.
Then follows a period of time when no significant change seems to happen, but if ones pays attention one can notice that actually them hem of the skirts starts getting shorter. First miniskirts appear to the street view when the spring is well on its way, although some thick pantyhose are still worn. During this period of time the coats worn start getting lighter.
Given a little more time the pantyhose get thinner and soon vanish all together from the miniskirt ladies. That is a definite sign that summer is practically here. But the surefire sign of summer still seems to be the rollerbabes in their skimpy shirts and tight hotpants.
Half a month after chaffinch
Only a while from wagtail
Not a day from swallow"
During last week a saw a couple of wagtails, so the summer is practically around the corner.
What other signs of summer might there be? Especially for a urban person who might see the migratory birds, not to mention recognize them.
First signs of the summer are the skateboarders. They appear to the street as soon as the snow has melted. After that hem of the coats start getting shorter, especially for the ladies. Around the same time first roller skaters brave the streets that are still covered with sand.
Then follows a period of time when no significant change seems to happen, but if ones pays attention one can notice that actually them hem of the skirts starts getting shorter. First miniskirts appear to the street view when the spring is well on its way, although some thick pantyhose are still worn. During this period of time the coats worn start getting lighter.
Given a little more time the pantyhose get thinner and soon vanish all together from the miniskirt ladies. That is a definite sign that summer is practically here. But the surefire sign of summer still seems to be the rollerbabes in their skimpy shirts and tight hotpants.
Friday 18 April 2008
The Man Behind the Cam
A brief introduction then. Look to the left, there's a profile!
Haha, just kidding, I'll make the introduction a bit longer than that.
I was born November the 2nd 1977 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Despite my birthplace I am a Finn by nationality, even though I have gotten my fair share of Swedish jokes. First three or so years of my life we lived in Sweden but moved to Finland when my big brother was due to start in elementary school. I have no memories from my time spent in Sweden, my first memories are from Finland.
As with the most male children I got of influences from my father, hopefully more of the good than of the bad. One of the influences was that of photography. I remember many dark winter nights being spent looking at slides my father had taken. Until my teenage I didn't really truly handle a camera (sure I played with a broken one, but I don't count that one). During my teenage though I borrowed one of my dad's compact point and shoot cameras for a trip to Rhodes. That, I think, kickstarted my photography hobby. A lot of gear has come and gone over the years and the photography as a hobby has had its active and passive phases.
Haha, just kidding, I'll make the introduction a bit longer than that.
I was born November the 2nd 1977 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Despite my birthplace I am a Finn by nationality, even though I have gotten my fair share of Swedish jokes. First three or so years of my life we lived in Sweden but moved to Finland when my big brother was due to start in elementary school. I have no memories from my time spent in Sweden, my first memories are from Finland.
As with the most male children I got of influences from my father, hopefully more of the good than of the bad. One of the influences was that of photography. I remember many dark winter nights being spent looking at slides my father had taken. Until my teenage I didn't really truly handle a camera (sure I played with a broken one, but I don't count that one). During my teenage though I borrowed one of my dad's compact point and shoot cameras for a trip to Rhodes. That, I think, kickstarted my photography hobby. A lot of gear has come and gone over the years and the photography as a hobby has had its active and passive phases.
Besides photography I am an active videogamer, roleplaying gamer, employee, husband and owner of a turtle born in summer 2006. I don't have much of an social life outside of work and family and I really don't feel that I'd need any more. I am quite confident having two best friends (and being married to the female one of those) and a bunch of buddies I see at work.
That's it for now.
This one is signing out.
Thursday 17 April 2008
Third Blog's the Charm!
Posting personal non photo related texts in my photoblog didn't somehow feel quite right, so I decided to start up a more personal kind of blog. I did (and still do) have a rant blog but it is for the gloomy side of me, too restricted in a way.
So it felt only logical to create yet another blog were I can allow myself to speak freely about just about anything I feel like to talk. I suppose a proper introduction is in order...
So it felt only logical to create yet another blog were I can allow myself to speak freely about just about anything I feel like to talk. I suppose a proper introduction is in order...
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