If you're actually using a mouse, perhaps you could try out a trackball for a few days. I could never go back to a mouse!!
But what I really wish would happen is that you would take a few hours a day, a few days a week, and climb a mountain (once you recover of course!). Nothing keeps the pudge at bay and the arteries open like a bit of cardio. Stair-steppers, rowing machines, and inclined treadmills are sooo boring that few persist with them. Mountains, otoh, are addictive and invigorating, and draw you along!
If you're actually using a mouse, perhaps you could try out a trackball for a few days. I could never go back to a mouse!!
But what I really wish would happen is that you would take a few hours a day, a few days a week, and climb a mountain (once you recover of course!). Nothing keeps the pudge at bay and the arteries open like a bit of cardio. Stair-steppers, rowing machines, and inclined treadmills are sooo boring that few persist with them. Mountains, otoh, are addictive and invigorating, and draw you along!
Walks are good, mountains better, but harder to get to. I walked a mile yesterday and will today, too. I used to run a lot. I did a marathon in 1999 and was still running nine miles every other day when I got married in 2003. Kids made it hard to continue, and we've got five of them.
When Parallax was looking for a machine to grind up bad chips, we searched a while before we realized that what we needed was called a "granulator". Granulators come in all sizes and will grind everything into little shards. One mid-sized machine was shown in a video being really useful for grinding up exercise equipment. They were feeding it all this gym equipment with weight stacks and pulleys, and it was just grinding all up. This, apparently, was a common application for granulators. Nobody likes their gym equipment for too long.
Thanks for all the advice about chairs and tables, Guys.
Ken has an extra ergonomic chair he's going to send me. That will be a big help, for now.
About how flakey modern computing is becoming: I went to get a chest x-ray today and was waiting a long time for the guy to bring out a CD-ROM, afterwards, with the two images on it. He finally called me back in and just x-ray'd me again because the software wasn't letting him make a CD after the frst set of x-rays. He was having the same trouble the second time, too, but after ~10 minutes, it just started working.
About how flakey modern computing is becoming: I went to get a chest x-ray today and was waiting a long time for the guy to bring out a CD-ROM, afterwards, with the two images on it. He finally called me back in and just x-ray'd me again because the software wasn't letting him make a CD after the frst set of x-rays. He was having the same trouble the second time, too, but after ~10 minutes, it just started working.
That's happened to me, too. In my case, they had to replace a malfunctioning sensor cassette with another one. But I'm glad they don't use film anymore, since the rad dosage can be much lower with digital sensors. And isn't it cool that we now have a way to take the imaging home with us? I did that recently with a CT scan. 'Totally fascinating and gives a whole new meaning to to the word "introspection."
I've had about a dozen MRIs as well as CT and PET/MRI and they give you a CDROM with the scans. Using a DICOM viewer I can look at all the images easily but what is really fascinating is switching to 3D composite view and moving around inside my head. I've looked but I still haven't found a Prop chip there though
Not sure it will help with your breathing issue, I don't experience what you are describing with mouse positioning requiring me to hold my breath. Perhaps you need to adjust your mouse settings?
As he said. I don't know how to do this in Windows, but it must be possible. On my *nix computers I always adjust the mouse settings so that I can accurately position the mouse the way I want. Speed and accelleration should be adjustable. And you should be able to set it so that the mouse cursor moves slowly and accurately when you're closing in on where you want to click.
I've had about a dozen MRIs as well as CT and PET/MRI and they give you a CDROM with the scans. Using a DICOM viewer I can look at all the images easily but what is really fascinating is switching to 3D composite view and moving around inside my head. I've looked but I still haven't found a Prop chip there though
Are you sure you zoomed in close enough? Your boards are tiny and easily missed! I am sure there are quite a few in there, running Tachyon and RS485 comms
If you're actually using a mouse, perhaps you could try out a trackball for a few days. I could never go back to a mouse!!
I don't have the real estate you are talking about but, a trackball is less strenuous for long sessions. Ergonomic and you can move the cursor around accurately, and not be tensed up trying to keep it still. In combination with settings, it does make a difference.
I used to work on large graphic files (Photo Repair), and spend hours at it.
EDIT: With a trackball you just move your thumb and index finger. With a mouse you move your whole arm. Not sure which will give you Carpal Tunnel Syndrome first.
Some people like trackballs, other can't use them (I'm one of those). It seems to be very black and white - either you like them, or you think they're awful. In any case, for those who must keep using the mouse, please look at the mouse settings. There shouldn't be any issues with accuracy or keeping the mouse cursor still - that's just a symptom of bad settings.
If you're actually using a mouse, perhaps you could try out a trackball for a few days. I could never go back to a mouse!!
I don't have the real estate you are talking about but, a trackball is less strenuous for long sessions. Ergonomic and you can move the cursor around accurately, and not be tensed up trying to keep it still. In combination with settings, it does make a difference.
I used to work on large graphic files (Photo Repair), and spend hours at it.
EDIT: With a trackball you just move your thumb and index finger. With a mouse you move your whole arm. Not sure which will give you Carpal Tunnel Syndrome first.
Ha, I just ordered one last night. I went to Amazon and bought the one with 10k reviews and 4.5 stars. It was a Logitech M570 for $25. Ken's going to give me a better chair, too.
I tried a trackball once. 'Never could master it, and my thumb got pretty sore, so I went back to mice. What saves me mousing around in CAD and the like are grid- and object-snaps. There's no way I could do precision work without them. One thing I haven't tried is a stylus pad (pen tablet). With those, gross movements can be done by moving the hand; fine movements, by fingertip motion, as in writing or drawing.
There isn't room to tout all the advantages of a trackball but I'll mention two:
1) When moving all the way across a screen it takes just a flick of the thumb. With a mouse, you do this fairly ridiculous slide-lift-retract-plop-slide-lift-retract_plop...sometimes ten times in a row, depending on the length of your forearm and the cleanliness of the desk.
2) With a trackball you can precisely place the cursor and then click your brains out without moving the cursor a whisker. With a mouse, pressing buttons is always messing up the precision of the pointing.
A trackball makes sense but I never felt comfortable with them and neither do I feel comfortable with touchpads, they are super awkward to select and drag with. I observe however that while my cheap Logitech M235 wireless mouse is easy to use and that I hardly need to move it more than several millimeters in any direction unless I go super slow, that there are computers that I come across that require ridiculous amounts of arm movement just to operate normally. This I put down to a combination of a poor mouse and poor mouse settings, I have my sensitivity at high and acceleration at 20% in Linux Mint.
BTW, I avoid Bluetooth mice, they don't always connect properly or stay connected in any operating system I've come across plus they are useless unless you are in an O/S and paired anyway. I just wish that laptop manufacturers bit the 50 cent bullet and built a Logitech style receiver into the motherboard rather than having to plug it in via USB, they just use something like a nRF24L01+ type chip anyway.
Ha, I just ordered one last night. I went to Amazon and bought the one with 10k reviews and 4.5 stars. It was a Logitech M570 for $25. Ken's going to give me a better chair, too.
Great, Ken's looking out for your best comfort, you may take some long sessions when getting back into it, but you should really keep better hours. Man really wasn't made to stay awake all nite. It's not natural for humans to do that.
To your first point, I pretty much never have to pick up my mouse like you describe. I have my mouse settings such that I can move the mouse clear across my side by side setup in one quick wrist motion, but at the same time I can move more precisely when I move slower. (Proper tuned acceleration setup.) I also have a very nice mouse with good polling rate and configurable DPI (or CPI).
Regarding your second point, yes, a lot of cheap mice have that issue, none of mine do. I can click away on all the buttons without moving the mouse. Most quality mice will not have this issue.
A theory may be wrong, but gives us a chance to sort the thoughs. The heart is the part of the body that drives blood to the most distant places. If you are thinking, your brain should be active, and consumes a lot of energy. If on the other hands the arteries don't widen, blood pressure is increased to guarantee supply. What again means, blood flow to other parts of your body has to be controlled by lowering permeability. That again leads to lower flowing speed of the blood and so the fat molecules have more time to settle to the arteries walls. May be nonsense, but it leads to the idea to balance activities what again is certainly not nonsense.
Anyway: I could create this picture, that shows a number of regular heart beats in a way, much more impressive than a ECG. But up to now, it's just for fun.
For the rest, I don’t want to speak here in detail about
the further progress I hope to make in the sciences, or to
make any public promise that I am not sure of keeping. I will
say only that I have resolved to devote my remaining years
purely to trying to acquire knowledge of nature from which
we can be derived rules in medicine that are more reliable
than those we have had up till now. I’m temperamentally
strongly opposed to any other projects, especially to any that
can help some people only by harming others; so that if
circumstances forced me to engage in one like that, I don’t
think I could succeed in it. Of this I make here a public
declaration, fully recognizing that it can’t serve to make me
eminent in the world—but then I don’t in the least want to be.
And I shall always hold myself more obliged to those whose
favour enables me to enjoy uninterrupted leisure than to any
who might offer me the most honourable employments in
the world.
Who knows, who could write such?
To your first point, I pretty much never have to pick up my mouse like you describe. I have my mouse settings such that I can move the mouse clear across my side by side setup in one quick wrist motion, but at the same time I can move more precisely when I move slower. (Proper tuned acceleration setup.) I also have a very nice mouse with good polling rate and configurable DPI (or CPI).
Regarding your second point, yes, a lot of cheap mice have that issue, none of mine do. I can click away on all the buttons without moving the mouse. Most quality mice will not have this issue.
Same here. I don't have issue 1 and I don't have issue 2. I don't even have issues with the bluetooth mouse I use with one (very high resolution) laptop. I bought a couple of high-resolution (there are differences) bluetooth mice, from ebay of all places - I bought two different ones in the hope that one of them would be ok - they both turned out to be fine. I originally used one of them with a tablet, but it worked so well that I now use one with my ultra-light laptop as well.
So, for ergonomics, a good mouse, *correctly set up*, should not be a problem. For those who can use trackballs; that can also be an alternative.
Chip mentioned chairs.. yes, very important! I hand-picked a chair in 1987, it fits my particular back perfectly. I have never had any back pain or problems at work, ever. But I easily get back pain when elsewhere, in other chairs. Had to replace wheels a couple of decades ago, and some years ago I got the chair re-polstered. They don't make them anymore, which is a problem.. all the chairs in the shops now are more for looks than ergonomics, or at least they are totally backwards from what my back needs. Fortunately my old one is as good as new.
A good chair is essential. And those adjustable up-down standing/sitting tables work for some people too.
Thanks for your story Chip. Something I find interesting when putting forward all of these life changes is thinking to yourself "This will be the hardest thing I do today." and then doing it
Glad you're getting up and moving around. Careful not to lift any of your kids or pets for the time being
Glad to hear that you are feeling much better Chip, since you are still on the younger side, the recovery should be relatively short.
Thinking about this, the medical aspect for open chest surgery sure has improved. I remember back in 1982 when my father had a similar experience, he was on the table for about seven hours, and spent a couple days in ICU, plus a couple of weeks in a normal room before he could be released from the hospital. Now I hear that after a couple of hours out of surgery, they are trying to get the patients out of bed, and get you released from the hospital within a couple of days.
That is a nice looking trackball, and I like the idea of being cordless. Though my MS cordless mouse needs a new battery too often. Its a couple of years old so they probably do better these days.
With a new chair and a cordless trackball you can set on your knee, or a platform on the chair arm. You may have to think about Not straining your eyes. Possibly a large HD LCD monitor, if you end up kicked back in a chair, farther away from the small print that you have now.
The trackball will take a little getting used to, you'll make the transition in less than an hour. Logitec makes a line of products for gamers, higher accuracy and more options. I bought this corded mouse back in 09, its built pretty sturdy, gamers can be rough on their equipment.
Logitec bundled software is great too.
You may get so comfortable you end up taking naps, instead of getting up once an hour to stretch and get the blood circulating.
Good luck with however you go about this transition. Now that you know where the problems are. You'll wonder why you were doing the adapting, and not the other way around.
Ha, I just ordered one last night. I went to Amazon and bought the one with 10k reviews and 4.5 stars. It was a Logitech M570 for $25. Ken's going to give me a better chair, too.
Chip, it's really great and such a relief to hear that you're gearing up to get back in the saddle WHEN YOU ARE READY. Hopefully Brother Ken will give you the best seat in the house. If not, head directly to a pricey "Relax the Back" store or equivalent for their most expensive offering and send Ken the bill.
Anyone else turn down the blue level on their monitor?
My blue level is 75%. I've heard of this in the past but never bought into it until my phone started doing it using a feature called night mode. It is noticeably easier to look at for extended periods of time.
Anyone else turn down the blue level on their monitor?
My blue level is 75%. I've heard of this in the past but never bought into it until my phone started doing it using a feature called night mode. It is noticeably easier to look at for extended periods of time.
I read books on either an Android device or an iPad for 30 minutes or so after reclining for the evening. Turning on the "night mode" on either of them has definitely shortened my reading time - which is a good thing. Great idea to check into xanadu!
Anyone else turn down the blue level on their monitor?
My blue level is 75%. I've heard of this in the past but never bought into it until my phone started doing it using a feature called night mode. It is noticeably easier to look at for extended periods of time.
Never thought about doing this on the PC but after a glass or two of a good red I find the screen is just rosy
Actually, I have heard that a Mediterranean diet is a very healthy diet, so with my favorite smoked kalamata olives and a good red I can sit down in front of the screen and be "healthy"
@erco: the trouble with a lot of chairs I find is that they are for "executives" but what I look for is an chair more suited for an engineer. I need them to go higher for benches and I find that arm rests just get in the way too. So as long as I have enough adjustments, especially for the (small) back rest, and it is sturdy with somewhere to rest my feet as well, that I am more comfortable than I would be if I were in a plush executive chair. My current chair (jason.l) only costs a about $300 but with a lifetime guarantee, so when I somehow managed to bust something on it after many years they ended just sending me a replacement.
Mind you, when I really need to think something through I just go and do a "mentalist" and lay down on the couch, sometimes it takes only a minute or two for my head to clear and I have this brilliant idea and more energy again. BTW, I am very guilty of "all nighters" or at least 2 or 3 in the morning for the same reasons Chip has.
I use a program called f.lux for my PC. It adjusts the "color temperature" of your displays based on time of day. It helps a lot late at night, reducing eye strain, and allowing me to get tired earlier.
Never thought about doing this on the PC but after a glass or two of a good red I find the screen is just rosy.
What kind of "good red" do you get down under? We get a lot of Aussie wines here, and they're quite well priced on the whole. But Yellow Tail has never really rocked my boat. Enquiring American minds want to know! ®
@Chip: For your consideration. For an extra $2000 they will deliver today from SoCal!
Never buy retail what you can find second hand. Some years back, I got my Ekornes Stressless for $250 at a new-used furniture shop in town. Virtually unused. New they're >$2,500.
Even so, *sitting* isn't what you want, so most chairs are counter-productive. You want to get up, every 15-20 minutes if possible. Don't let blood pool in the derriere. Don't fold your legs in an L; bad for the circulation. Intentionally move test gear and the soldering station to another part of the office where you have to walk over to it.
On "blue" lights: We have too much of them in our lives. They tend to disrupt one's circadian rhythm. They're especially bad as nightlights or power lights that cast a blue tint in a room when you're trying to sleep. Peach is much better if you want some sleep. If you have a kindle or other e-reader that you like to use in bed, choose the warm tone.
I've also found that turning down the gamma (black body radiation temperature of white point) color temperature makes viewing a monitor late at night much easier on my eyes. I use a program called Redshift to do this on Linux. You can have it run in the background and continuously change the color temperature throughout the day based on the position of the sun, but I just run it manually whenever I find the screen annoyingly blue.
EDIT: Actually, gamma and color temperature are completely different things... I meant color temperature.
Comments
But what I really wish would happen is that you would take a few hours a day, a few days a week, and climb a mountain (once you recover of course!). Nothing keeps the pudge at bay and the arteries open like a bit of cardio. Stair-steppers, rowing machines, and inclined treadmills are sooo boring that few persist with them. Mountains, otoh, are addictive and invigorating, and draw you along!
Walks are good, mountains better, but harder to get to. I walked a mile yesterday and will today, too. I used to run a lot. I did a marathon in 1999 and was still running nine miles every other day when I got married in 2003. Kids made it hard to continue, and we've got five of them.
When Parallax was looking for a machine to grind up bad chips, we searched a while before we realized that what we needed was called a "granulator". Granulators come in all sizes and will grind everything into little shards. One mid-sized machine was shown in a video being really useful for grinding up exercise equipment. They were feeding it all this gym equipment with weight stacks and pulleys, and it was just grinding all up. This, apparently, was a common application for granulators. Nobody likes their gym equipment for too long.
Ken has an extra ergonomic chair he's going to send me. That will be a big help, for now.
About how flakey modern computing is becoming: I went to get a chest x-ray today and was waiting a long time for the guy to bring out a CD-ROM, afterwards, with the two images on it. He finally called me back in and just x-ray'd me again because the software wasn't letting him make a CD after the frst set of x-rays. He was having the same trouble the second time, too, but after ~10 minutes, it just started working.
-Phil
I don't have the real estate you are talking about but, a trackball is less strenuous for long sessions. Ergonomic and you can move the cursor around accurately, and not be tensed up trying to keep it still. In combination with settings, it does make a difference.
I used to work on large graphic files (Photo Repair), and spend hours at it.
EDIT: With a trackball you just move your thumb and index finger. With a mouse you move your whole arm. Not sure which will give you Carpal Tunnel Syndrome first.
Ha, I just ordered one last night. I went to Amazon and bought the one with 10k reviews and 4.5 stars. It was a Logitech M570 for $25. Ken's going to give me a better chair, too.
-Phil
1) When moving all the way across a screen it takes just a flick of the thumb. With a mouse, you do this fairly ridiculous slide-lift-retract-plop-slide-lift-retract_plop...sometimes ten times in a row, depending on the length of your forearm and the cleanliness of the desk.
2) With a trackball you can precisely place the cursor and then click your brains out without moving the cursor a whisker. With a mouse, pressing buttons is always messing up the precision of the pointing.
BTW, I avoid Bluetooth mice, they don't always connect properly or stay connected in any operating system I've come across plus they are useless unless you are in an O/S and paired anyway. I just wish that laptop manufacturers bit the 50 cent bullet and built a Logitech style receiver into the motherboard rather than having to plug it in via USB, they just use something like a nRF24L01+ type chip anyway.
Great, Ken's looking out for your best comfort, you may take some long sessions when getting back into it, but you should really keep better hours. Man really wasn't made to stay awake all nite. It's not natural for humans to do that.
To your first point, I pretty much never have to pick up my mouse like you describe. I have my mouse settings such that I can move the mouse clear across my side by side setup in one quick wrist motion, but at the same time I can move more precisely when I move slower. (Proper tuned acceleration setup.) I also have a very nice mouse with good polling rate and configurable DPI (or CPI).
Regarding your second point, yes, a lot of cheap mice have that issue, none of mine do. I can click away on all the buttons without moving the mouse. Most quality mice will not have this issue.
Anyway: I could create this picture, that shows a number of regular heart beats in a way, much more impressive than a ECG. But up to now, it's just for fun.
For the rest, I don’t want to speak here in detail about
the further progress I hope to make in the sciences, or to
make any public promise that I am not sure of keeping. I will
say only that I have resolved to devote my remaining years
purely to trying to acquire knowledge of nature from which
we can be derived rules in medicine that are more reliable
than those we have had up till now. I’m temperamentally
strongly opposed to any other projects, especially to any that
can help some people only by harming others; so that if
circumstances forced me to engage in one like that, I don’t
think I could succeed in it. Of this I make here a public
declaration, fully recognizing that it can’t serve to make me
eminent in the world—but then I don’t in the least want to be.
And I shall always hold myself more obliged to those whose
favour enables me to enjoy uninterrupted leisure than to any
who might offer me the most honourable employments in
the world.
Who knows, who could write such?
So, for ergonomics, a good mouse, *correctly set up*, should not be a problem. For those who can use trackballs; that can also be an alternative.
Chip mentioned chairs.. yes, very important! I hand-picked a chair in 1987, it fits my particular back perfectly. I have never had any back pain or problems at work, ever. But I easily get back pain when elsewhere, in other chairs. Had to replace wheels a couple of decades ago, and some years ago I got the chair re-polstered. They don't make them anymore, which is a problem.. all the chairs in the shops now are more for looks than ergonomics, or at least they are totally backwards from what my back needs. Fortunately my old one is as good as new.
A good chair is essential. And those adjustable up-down standing/sitting tables work for some people too.
Glad you're getting up and moving around. Careful not to lift any of your kids or pets for the time being
~Addie
Thinking about this, the medical aspect for open chest surgery sure has improved. I remember back in 1982 when my father had a similar experience, he was on the table for about seven hours, and spent a couple days in ICU, plus a couple of weeks in a normal room before he could be released from the hospital. Now I hear that after a couple of hours out of surgery, they are trying to get the patients out of bed, and get you released from the hospital within a couple of days.
Ray
With a new chair and a cordless trackball you can set on your knee, or a platform on the chair arm. You may have to think about Not straining your eyes. Possibly a large HD LCD monitor, if you end up kicked back in a chair, farther away from the small print that you have now.
The trackball will take a little getting used to, you'll make the transition in less than an hour. Logitec makes a line of products for gamers, higher accuracy and more options. I bought this corded mouse back in 09, its built pretty sturdy, gamers can be rough on their equipment.
Logitec bundled software is great too.
You may get so comfortable you end up taking naps, instead of getting up once an hour to stretch and get the blood circulating.
Good luck with however you go about this transition. Now that you know where the problems are. You'll wonder why you were doing the adapting, and not the other way around.
Chip, it's really great and such a relief to hear that you're gearing up to get back in the saddle WHEN YOU ARE READY. Hopefully Brother Ken will give you the best seat in the house. If not, head directly to a pricey "Relax the Back" store or equivalent for their most expensive offering and send Ken the bill.
Merry Christmas!
My blue level is 75%. I've heard of this in the past but never bought into it until my phone started doing it using a feature called night mode. It is noticeably easier to look at for extended periods of time.
Never thought about doing this on the PC but after a glass or two of a good red I find the screen is just rosy
Actually, I have heard that a Mediterranean diet is a very healthy diet, so with my favorite smoked kalamata olives and a good red I can sit down in front of the screen and be "healthy"
@erco: the trouble with a lot of chairs I find is that they are for "executives" but what I look for is an chair more suited for an engineer. I need them to go higher for benches and I find that arm rests just get in the way too. So as long as I have enough adjustments, especially for the (small) back rest, and it is sturdy with somewhere to rest my feet as well, that I am more comfortable than I would be if I were in a plush executive chair. My current chair (jason.l) only costs a about $300 but with a lifetime guarantee, so when I somehow managed to bust something on it after many years they ended just sending me a replacement.
Mind you, when I really need to think something through I just go and do a "mentalist" and lay down on the couch, sometimes it takes only a minute or two for my head to clear and I have this brilliant idea and more energy again. BTW, I am very guilty of "all nighters" or at least 2 or 3 in the morning for the same reasons Chip has.
I use a program called f.lux for my PC. It adjusts the "color temperature" of your displays based on time of day. It helps a lot late at night, reducing eye strain, and allowing me to get tired earlier.
https://justgetflux.com/
-Phil
Never buy retail what you can find second hand. Some years back, I got my Ekornes Stressless for $250 at a new-used furniture shop in town. Virtually unused. New they're >$2,500.
http://thebackstore.com/shop-by-brand/stressless/recliners.html
Even so, *sitting* isn't what you want, so most chairs are counter-productive. You want to get up, every 15-20 minutes if possible. Don't let blood pool in the derriere. Don't fold your legs in an L; bad for the circulation. Intentionally move test gear and the soldering station to another part of the office where you have to walk over to it.
On "blue" lights: We have too much of them in our lives. They tend to disrupt one's circadian rhythm. They're especially bad as nightlights or power lights that cast a blue tint in a room when you're trying to sleep. Peach is much better if you want some sleep. If you have a kindle or other e-reader that you like to use in bed, choose the warm tone.
EDIT: Actually, gamma and color temperature are completely different things... I meant color temperature.