Healthy & Computer

• Ocular motility — the ability of the eyes to move in various positions.
• Accommodation — the ability of the eyes to focus clearly at various distances.
• Vergence — The ability to move the eyes in (convergence) or out (divergence). Effects of Working Environment Computer work places various demands on the visual system. Each of these factors can play a part in computer vision syndrome. Screen resolution — Better resolution offers greater clarity and usually leads to improved comfort. Adjust the resolution to the highest resolution your monitor will support. If the increased screen resolution makes items too small, try increasing the font size (DPI) to compensate.
• Screen contrast — Adjust the contrast between the characters on the monitor and the background so the letters are easily read. Adjust the brightness of the monitor to an intensity that is comfortable to your eyes.
• Screen glare and reflections — Minimize reflected glare on your monitor by using window treatments, dimmer switches on lights and glare reduction filters.
• Image refresh rates and flicker — A higher refresh rate for your monitor is best. The image on the screen should not flicker at all. (This is not a concern with LCDs.)
• Working distances and angles
• General eyeglass prescription may not be adequate — Computers are usually further and higher than a typical reading task. Glasses for most people wearing bifocals are not adjusted for this new distance or angle and therefore often are not adequate for using the computer.
• Repetitive and stressful tasks — Difficult tasks are challenging. Don't forget to take occasional breaks and let the eyes look far away while resting.
• Have a regular comprehensive eye exam to ensure your eyes are healthy and that you have the correct eyeglass or contact lens prescription (if necessary). Be certain to tell your optometrist about the computer work you do.
• Wear glasses that are specifically designed to function comfortably at the computer.
• Feet should be flat on the floor (or on a slightly angled foot rest) with knees bent close to or greater than 90 degrees.
• Chair seat should support the legs without excessive pressure on the back of the thighs.
• The back should be snug against the seat to fit your spinal contour. Thigh-to-trunk angle should be 90 degrees or greater.
• Wrists and hands should extend nearly straight from the elbow to the home row of the keyboard.
• A commonly preferred work surface height for keyboard use is about 26" as opposed to the conventional 29" of most tables or desks.
• Place the monitor 20"-26" from your eyes, depending on the size of the monitor and individual vision conditions.
• The monitor and keyboard should be straight ahead.
• The top of the monitor should be slightly below horizontal eye level. Tilt the top of the monitor away from you at a 10 degree to 20 degree angle. The center of the monitor should be 10 degrees to 20 degrees below your eyes. This is 4?-9? below your eyes at a distance of 24"
• Keep the monitor free of fingerprints and dust. Both can reduce clarity.
• Place document holders close to the screen within the same viewing distance. Keep the keyboard and monitor in line.
• Adjust the keyboard tilt angle so that wrists are straight. Healthy Computer Use Although the visual system faces considerable challenges when using a computer, most issues can be solved.

The great euthanasia debate

How attitudes to mercy killings differ around EuropeTWO European countries, Britain and Belgium, have had cause in recent weeks to ponder the same ethical question: what happens when doctors decide a patient has no chance of a bearable life? In Britain headlines reported the grief of parents whose wishes were overruled by the courts, allowing doctors to turn off the ventilators keeping their son alive. Shortly afterwards a new study reported that active euthanasiain which not only is medical care withdrawn, but drugs are used to shorten lifeis opposed by two-thirds of British doctors.A similar debate has broken out in Belgium, another European country that has moved in a broadly secular, permissive direction over the past few decades. But this one was very different. Buried on inside pages, small newspaper stories reported a survey of paediatric intensive-care nurses. It emerged that they had witnessed two dozen infants and children being given lethal drugs to speed their deaths. That amounts to involuntary euthanasia, which is illegal (though Belgium, like the Netherlands, has legalised euthanasia for consenting adults). Asked if the law should be changed to allow the ending of minors lives, 89% of nurses in the Belgian study said yes.

An Anita Answer Column

When Bad Things Happen To Good Columnists Last time, I promised to tell you how I choose questions to answer from the ever-growing file of potential questions, which is now close to 800 again. I apologize for the delay in getting to Part 2. I had a rather lengthy entry written and was ready to go with it. Then something happened a couple of weeks ago that made me rethink what I had written, so I went back and rewrote it. I was just about to submit the second version for publishing, when the same "something" happened yet again last week, so here I am rewriting this for the third time. I beg for your indulgence as I try to be uncharacteristically serious for a minute. In the almost-five years that I've been writing the Anita Answer column, I have only gotten six unpleasant e-mails from people who were unhappy with me for not answering their questions. I received two of the six within two days of each other earlier this month, and then a third one arrived this week. Maybe it was the full moon, the weather, or maybe it's the time of year. April seems to make people restless, for some reason still unknown to me. There's probably a scientific or psychological explanation, but as I said, I don't know what that is. Anyway, back on point. I guess when you think of how many thousands of e-mails I've received over the years, six unpleasant messages is a rather small percentage. Still, they threw me a bit off-balance, because I like to think I have a good relationship with the site's readers, for whom I try to perform a service, and particularly because I received those three complaints so close together after all this time. It made me stop and wonder if I really had been doing something wrong. The vast (and I do mean vast) majority of people who write to me are absolutely delightful, so why were these three e-mails bothering me so much? Once I had recovered my equilibrium again, I thought it might be helpful to me and to you readers to write about it, and to share the thoughts those e-mails provoked for me. First, you should know that I don't get paid to do this. In fact, no one on the AllEars® team gets paid for what they do. The team puts a tremendous amount of work into this website, including a lot of love and pride, too. We strive to provide up-to-date information, and we don't deal in the Rumor Mill much. Well, I do, but I always make sure it's clear I'm talking about a rumor. We want our readers to be able to trust what they read here, so we take a lot of time and care before publishing information. I wouldn't try to speak for anyone else on the team, but I love what I do here, and I suspect they do also, or we wouldn't do it. Some of us have been friends since dirt was new, and some are new friends, but we all have this in common: We all love the Disney parks and resorts, and we all love bringing a small piece of that into your world each week. I suspect that not many people know what a gargantuan task this actually is. It requires hours and hours to research, write and maintain this site, its newsletter and the Ears To Ears forum. It doesn't all happen by magic, much as we sometimes wish it did. Keep in mind that all of us have other full time jobs, families, pets and homes that need our time and attention too. Perhaps knowing all of this is why receiving those impatient and unpleasant e-mails so close together threw me. The last of the three emails I received was the one that bothered me the most. It accused me of constantly writing about myself and of publishing irrelevant questions and answers. I personally invest a great deal of my spare time in researching and writing my column. I write from my own experiences and frame of reference. How else could I write the column? Short answer: I couldn't. Readers ask my advice and I give it, based on what I know. That's what the column is all about. This is what I do, and there is no way I could do it without talking about my own experiences. This is what gives my column a personal touch, isn't it? Other people don't want advice, but they want to know something about Disney history, something they remember from childhood, or a rumor they heard. I like to write about those things too, because they interest me. If they didn't interest me, why would I want to spend time researching and writing about them? That leads me directly to the question, "Do I write about irrelevant subjects?" Well...What's irrelevant to Reader A is quite relevant to Reader B, and may spark even more questions or tips from Readers C and D. If every question I answered was about refillable mugs, the dining plan and what time the 3:00 parade was, how very dull would that column be? I wouldn't want to read it let alone write it. I can only hope that the majority of my readers agree, or else I'm just spinning my wheels here. After reaching that conclusion, it led me to this thought. Before he died, my dad used to tell me all the time, "If it isn't fun anymore, don't do it. Life's too short." I've always tried to take that simple advice, and so those three e-mails had me wondering if writing this column was still a fun and fulfilling for me to do. It took me all of about 30 seconds of pondering to answer, "Yep. Definitely still fun!" For this reason, I'll continue writing my column just as I've written it for the last five years, and I'll do it until it's no longer fun. I write my column because it makes me happy to write about my favorite subjects, and if it helps somebody have a better vacation or experience, that's icing on the Mystical Cake. [Sorry, inside joke, too hard to explain. Just go with it...] Well, as usual, I've digressed and used far too many words to convey a simple sentiment, which is this: Dear readers, try to take a little advice from me and my dad when you're planning your Disney vacation. If it isn't fun, don't do it. Take a step back, take a deep breath, examine what the problem is, and then take another route. Always remember that we're talking about going to a fun place--A place where adults and kids alike can have a great time, but not if it becomes a stressful experience. It's a vacation, after all, not a death march. Don't fret and obsess over your planning to the point it makes you irritable and unhappy. Be flexible, be patient, and by all means, when you come to this site for help with your planning, please be respectful and polite when you ask. Behind the screen sits a team of truly great people, and we really do like to help you have a better time on your trip, or to bring you the latest Disney news and advice when that next trip seems to be too far away to bear. OK, enough of this serious stuff. Next time I promise I'll really tell you about how I choose my questions--Really! Anita

Movie Review

Film: Maska Cast: Ram, Hansika, Sheela, Sunil, Mukesh Rishi, Pradeep Rawat, Naresh.. Story: Surya Dialogues: Parachuri Brothers Music: Chakri Lyrics: Kandikonda Cinematography: Sekhar V Joseph Editing: Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao Choreography: Prem Rakshit Fights: Ram Lakshman Screenplay and produced by: M.S.Raju Directed by: B.Gopal Release date: Jan 14, 2009 CBFC Rating: U/A What’s it about? Politicians Simhachalam (Mukesh Rishi) and Shayaji Shinde (Pradeep Rawat) both fight for a ministerial berth. Knowing that it is impossible to beat Simhachalam, Shayaji Shinde plans to kill his daughter who resides in Hyderabad. On other hand, an educated unemployee Krish aka Jagarlamudi Krishnakant (Ram) woos Simhachalam’s daughter Manju (Sheela) in the hope that if he gets married to her, his life would be settled. With the help of his friend (Sunil) he knows about her likes and dislikes and impresses her. In a funny incident, a girl’s bio-data lands in his hands. Krish uses her photo and identity to impress Manju saying that he is in love with Meenu but she is more interested in settling in USA, so he left her. Few days later, Meenu really turns up. Now, Krish does the same tricks that he applied for Manju to woo Meenu. The rest of the movie is all about who really Meenu is and with whom Krish finally gets married to.

Double suicide bombing in Baghdad

At least 60 people have been killed and about 125 injured in a double suicide bombing at the most important Shia shrine in Baghdad, police say.

I Want My DTPtv

So one of my presentations at EclipseCon 2009 was "DTPtv and Other Wacky Ideas."Was this truly a wacky idea? Probably. Who would have thought to merge Eclipse, YouTube, and DTP in one go?My goal was two-fold... First, I wanted to show that DTP can be used for something more than just databases. Far too often we're pidgeonholed as a provider of database tools. And though we do that, we do much more as well. Second, I wanted to do something out of the usual box, and YouTube is pretty dang far out of the box...Basically I focused on three different things...Make the YouTube APIs accessible and test them.Create a YouTube Search connection profile in DTP so you could create and manage multiple searches in a variety of ways.Create a viewer that would allow a user to take advantage of YouTube searches on the fly and see the results within the Eclipse IDE or in an RCP application.Now why would you want to do this you might ask? Good question.Image via CrunchBaseLet's say you write Eclipse RCP applications for a company with a healthy education department. They want to help out beginning users by recording tutorials and putting them up on YouTube. Not only will it help your users, but it works as a bit of helpful marketing for your sales staff. And now that they're doing this, they want a way to be able to take advantage of these YouTube videos right inside the application.Maybe this isn't so far fetched after all?In the next series of blog posts, I'll focus on the three steps I took to get this all working. I demoed working code at the conference and will clean it up a little, zip it up, and have it available on a file sharing site soon. I hope to also contribute it back to the Examples project at Eclipse, as it crosses project boundaries.As always, please feel free to ask questions or make comments as I go through the process. Many of you will find this old hat, but I'm hoping someone can take advantage of the information.

Zoo showing on more4

ZooZoo, showing Tuesday April 21st on more4 at 10:00pmThe True Stories strand, which showcases the best international feature documentaries, presents Robinson Devor's astonishing story of a seemingly average businessman whose secret sexual life led to his shocking death. Kenneth Pinyan, 45, a Boeing engineer, was anonymously dropped at a Washington state hospital in July 2005. He died from a perforated colon shortly after being admitted.The subsequent police investigation led authorities to a nearby farm and the discovery of a videotape featuring Pinyan and other participants engaging in sexual relations with a variety of horses, a practice not illegal in Washington state.The film explores the ensuing media coverage and public outcry that uncovered a secret community in Enumclaw of apparently upstanding citizens who shared this sexual appetite, revealing the enormous gulf between what we appear to be and who we really are. Blurring the line between documentary and narrative storytelling, this documentary gives a humanising slant on an extreme case of sexual desire. View the full reviewGet a reminder when Zoo starts...

win one of two mystery Xbox 360 packages!

Like the Optimus Maximus, the Xbox 360 is a gadget that's been around on Engadget almost as long as... well, the site itself. Remember that exciting live launch coverage we did back in 2005? Now that was good, clean fun. Anyhow, without further ado, we're happy to present part 2 of Engadget's birthday giveaway session: a mystery Xbox 360 package. We can't tell you what's in the box here, but we can tell you that it's totally awesome. The best part? We've got not one, but two separate prizes to give away! Don't miss out -- you'll kick yourself if you do. All you've got to do is let us know what your favorite post from the last five years has been in the comments below. Note: We've bolded the above statement for a reason. Do it. The rules: Leave a comment below. We want to hear what your favorite Engadget post has been from the last five years -- and feel free to be descriptive! You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine. Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Winners will be chosen randomly. Two (2) winners will receive one (1) mystery Xbox 360 package each. Approximate retail value is incalcuable. If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Entries can be submitted until Friday, April 17th, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck! Full rules can be found here. Filed under: AnnouncementsEngadget's 5th birthday giveaway, part 2: win one of two mystery Xbox 360 packages!

I am Not Spartacus

Bad news this week for the DPP out of an unexpected spot: Tainan. After the primary, DPP heavyweights picked Lee Chun-yee as the candidate for the County Chief election later this year. But Mark Chen, the former Foreign Minister, a candidate for the DPP slate, complained that "factional influences" had caused the DPP to select Lee, and said that he would run separately, creating a split DPP ticket that would give the KMT a strong change of winning. The Taipei Times had a few pointed remarks on the topic:In going against public opinion, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen says the party has opted for a generational change. At the same time, however, Tsai is trying to stamp her authority on the party and make a clean break with the past.Factional considerations may also have played a role. Although the party supposedly abolished its factions in 2006, Mark Chen is close to — and the preferred choice of — former president Chen Shui-bian .Tsai is taking a risk. A split pan-green vote would open the door for a Chinese Nationalist Party victory in a place the DPP has controlled for the last 16 years. Nor is Tainan a place the DPP can afford to lose, given the challenges it faces in other parts of the country.Pan-green incumbents in the south are already under pressure because of the central government’s uneven distribution of development funds — which has left DPP-controlled authorities with the short end of the stick — and an apparent boycott of pan-green counties and cities by Chinese tourists.Meanwhile, the questionable legal proceedings against Chiayi County Commissioner Chen Ming-wen and Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen will test the pair’s ability to win re-election.The "generational change" Tsai wants is illustrated by the simple fact that Chen is now 74 years old. Time for younger people, and more importantly, time for DPP politicians to stop thinking they are bigger than the party or its policies.I've blogged on the development policies here, but it would be great if we could get more reporting on the alleged tourist boycott.

Cowon releases 32GB S9 PMP in Korea

Cowon's done a commendable job in making the S9 a force to be reckoned with in the PMP arena, but the 16GB maximum has likely caused quite a few music aficionados to look elsewhere. At long last, the company is releasing a 32GB flavor over in South Korea, though it'll cost you a stiff ₩379,000 ($287) for the privilege of ownership. There's no word on a US release, but we'd wager that it'll be here within a month or two. Right, Cowon?

In Defence of Lois Whitman

Someone has to do this, and someone has to say what this really is - it's not just an attack on one PR person, but it's an attack on the PR industry as a whole.I am not here to condemn Lois, but rather defend. Nor am I here to condone her actions, but rather speak to the PR industry about such actions - as well, as speak to others as a PR practitioner.So, today she is being held up as everything wrong with the PR industry, because of her actions regarding CES. Yes, her actions and her own defence (or lack thereof) come up lacking - Phonescoop would not care about the clients her employee was pitching, and the laziness of just blasting the whole media list has its own consequences (for example, see Chris Anderson's blacklist) - but it is still a common PR practice, especially during trade show season. And, it is because we are under the gun to get X meetings at the trade show.I, myself, have received three emails from one PR person asking why I have not responded to the first email ... maybe because I am busy and not attending CES as media/blogger this year?And, yes, Lois and her PR firm has the distinct honor of being called out by The Bad Pitch Blog; I know Kevin, and I know that it takes many offenses to be publicly called out.But, I'm here to defend Lois - not necessarily because I think she deserves to be defended, but because PR people are missing the bigger issue. It's another typical attack on PR, and not necessarily warranted. While she is quite a character, and seems to not notice how the game has changed, but added New Media to the firm's name in 2001 (hey, she was an early adopter!) to keep abreast of the latest buzz word game.In today's world, though, public relations is becoming more and more relevant. With the media shrinking, freelancers becoming more and more prevelant, and, well, online media (or new media or social media) become fragmented where you need VERY targeted outreach to reach the right audiences, well, the PR executive and firm is the perfect choice. And, that includes all the social media / networking brouhaha. Who is better off talking to people than public relations? The classic generalist is trained to work with the media, the public and to engage in discussions, not just one-way messaging.As for the start of this recent PR is dead meme, but let's put a face to it (with Lois) - it started with the embargoes are dead meme, which is just as dumb, if not dumber. The embargo is based on a working relationship, and when a PR person or firm gets burnt by a reporter or site, you stop working with them (giving them the pre-briefs), and shoot them the news at the same time.And, really, 90 percent of the embargoes for start-ups are worthless. It's not embargo worthy news, they aren't public companies. You don't send off a release under embargo without getting a verbal or written "yes" that they will honor the embargo. That, again, goes to laziness.In the era of new media, social media or whatever, though, the embargo might be on its last legs. However, for a public company, it does not. You want to pre-brief reporters on upcoming news, but that pesky SEC stuff gets in the way. So, you do under embargo - usually backed up by an attorney.During the dot-com era, News.com was infamous for having the fast trigger finger. During the Web 2.0 bubble (or whatever you want to call the recent past), it was Mashable that was whispered about as fast posters. So, if you are a smart PR person that values your relationships, you don't pre-brief or embargo them - you give them the news the same time you send it out on the wire. If you don't get the hit, you don't get it.And, yes, even I have been burnt by the verbal embargo. Back in the day, I pre-briefed two outlets: WSJ (my choice and person) and AP (the partner's choice and person). AP went early, and burned my relationship with the WSJ reporter and killed the better story (told from my POV, rather than the partners). It happens to everyone, but the good PR person learns from it and redoes the strategy for the next news cycle. Or just briefs.But, back to Lois. While the PR bloggers love a good dog pile to attack another PR person when they come under fire - and in these economic times, it's a bigger blood sport than usual - with this highly visible and somewhat personal attack on a PR firm, it's an attack on all of us. It's another shot in the PR gut that we're dead.And, well, we're not. We're more important in a recession than ever before. But, if your PR firm or PR person has time to post in the middle of the day, you really should question what they are doing for you. Or if it is themselves they are thinking of first. PR needs to be client first, PR person second. Not the other way around. And that also is hurting the PR industry.

Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 4/13

It's a slow, post-Easter release week...The ReaderOlder woman meets much younger man. They have an affair, years go by, and then they meet again when she's brought to court with Nazi war crime charges. The film earned Kate Winslet an Academy Award for her performance while also grabbing four other nominations. But is The Reader worth it? In her review, Jette said that the "structure of The Reader is rambling and hard to follow," but "like many end-of-year films, the performances are what makes the film most worth watching." Rent it.Add to Netflix queue Buy at AmazonThe SpiritIt whipped up enough buzz, but unfortunately, the eager excitement just wasn't there -- both before and after release. As Scott said: "The Spirit is simply an empty vessel. It's a bunch of cool-looking visuals that should be looking for a half-decent plot, but are just too damn happy being cool-looking visuals." Need you hear more unhappiness? Skip it. Also on Blu-ray.Add to Netflix queue Buy at AmazonAlso out: Bled, Splinter, Irreconcilable Differences, Decameron '69, Hiding OutFiled under: Drama, New Releases, DVD Reviews, New on DVD, Home Entertainment, Comic/Superhero/GeekContinue reading Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 4/13 Permalink Email this Comments