Pa. man knows how salmon feel after bear attack
The bear chased the man's dog inside the home--combining "home invasion" and "animal attack" into one incident.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Office Chairs
Snowflakes in Hell is discussing the problem of ergonomics, keyboards, mice, and office chairs. Let me throw in some kind words for the True Seating Designs chair that Staples sells. It replaced an old one that was not giving me enough elevation to avoid straining my wrists–and I highly recommend it. Headrest; lumbar back adjustment; mesh back–very comfortable, and very reasonably priced.
I went into Staples in West Boise a few weeks back, and one of their sales people (named Jeremy, if memory serves me correctly) spent a bit time showing me what they had in stock, and the advantages of each chair. I never felt pressured; he was doing exactly what a competent salesman does.
I went into Staples in West Boise a few weeks back, and one of their sales people (named Jeremy, if memory serves me correctly) spent a bit time showing me what they had in stock, and the advantages of each chair. I never felt pressured; he was doing exactly what a competent salesman does.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Remember When Flat Panel Monitors Were Spendy?
I bought a 23" flat panel LCD monitor earlier this year for less than $200. Look at what you can now get for
. What would I need this for? To get lost in the documents I am editing? Still very impressive pricing.
. What would I need this for? To get lost in the documents I am editing? Still very impressive pricing.
Faster, Please
I keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for retractable studded snow tires. The company leading this new technology explains that they are hoping to get to market by 2013, assuming that they get next round financing.
USB KVM Switch
I just ordered up the IOGEAR 2-Port MiniView Micro USB PLUS KVM Switch with Audio and Cables GCS632U to solve my KVM switch problem with the new Microsoft keyboard. I did a little digging--it appears that the problem that my KVM switch has with the Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard is that the PS/2 to USB conversion requires a bit more than just passive signal switching to work with a KVM switch.
Anyway, the 4-port KVM switch that I have now uses PS/2 connectors for the keyboard and mouse, and the VGA monitor cable. I really don't need 4-ports; I only have two notebooks that are sharing a keyboard, mouse, and display. One nice thing about the GCS632U (which I found out by reading a review of the cheaper 2-port IOGear switch), is that while you have keyboard and mouse plug into separate USB ports on the switch, it combines them into a single USB cable going to each computer. This reduces the number of USB ports you are consuming on your PC, and reduces the number of cables on your desk. This is a real advantage, since I already have a rat's nest there.
The other nice thing is that you can switch speakers as well, sharing a single set of speakers for two different PCs.
Anyway, the 4-port KVM switch that I have now uses PS/2 connectors for the keyboard and mouse, and the VGA monitor cable. I really don't need 4-ports; I only have two notebooks that are sharing a keyboard, mouse, and display. One nice thing about the GCS632U (which I found out by reading a review of the cheaper 2-port IOGear switch), is that while you have keyboard and mouse plug into separate USB ports on the switch, it combines them into a single USB cable going to each computer. This reduces the number of USB ports you are consuming on your PC, and reduces the number of cables on your desk. This is a real advantage, since I already have a rat's nest there.
The other nice thing is that you can switch speakers as well, sharing a single set of speakers for two different PCs.
Real Progress on the Wrists; Siding Muscles
I received my Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard at home on Friday, and it really makes a huge difference. I spent much of Sunday afternoon updating my notes for week 11 of the U.S. History class, without any real grief.
Now, I did something Saturday that has many muscles in pain, but they are mostly different muscles. My daughter and son-in-law are converting their screened-in patio into an office. This is a very common conversion around here now, simply because houses are all underwater--most houses are worth under $100,000, sometimes substantially under $100,000. (Even though they bought their house when the economy looked about as low as it could go--it has since gone lower.)
Some guys they go to church with are contractors, and came over and did much of the heavy lifting on the framing of the addition; we helped them a few weeks ago with dry wall work (something that I have done before, back in the 1970s), and Saturday we helped them with siding the addition.
The house, like many less expensive homes in the Boise area, has vinyl siding. We were able to reuse most of the siding that came off the old wall, and only needed to buy a small amount of new siding. I have never particularly liked vinyl siding as an exterior, because it never looks spectacular. On the plus side, it is very stable: the ten year old siding, other than being a little dirty (which cleans up well), looks identical to the new siding which is the same color. What this meant was that when we were done, it is was hard to tell which pieces were original, and which were new.
I have never done siding before, so this was a new and useful experience. But I am feeling it now!
Now, I did something Saturday that has many muscles in pain, but they are mostly different muscles. My daughter and son-in-law are converting their screened-in patio into an office. This is a very common conversion around here now, simply because houses are all underwater--most houses are worth under $100,000, sometimes substantially under $100,000. (Even though they bought their house when the economy looked about as low as it could go--it has since gone lower.)
Some guys they go to church with are contractors, and came over and did much of the heavy lifting on the framing of the addition; we helped them a few weeks ago with dry wall work (something that I have done before, back in the 1970s), and Saturday we helped them with siding the addition.
The house, like many less expensive homes in the Boise area, has vinyl siding. We were able to reuse most of the siding that came off the old wall, and only needed to buy a small amount of new siding. I have never particularly liked vinyl siding as an exterior, because it never looks spectacular. On the plus side, it is very stable: the ten year old siding, other than being a little dirty (which cleans up well), looks identical to the new siding which is the same color. What this meant was that when we were done, it is was hard to tell which pieces were original, and which were new.
I have never done siding before, so this was a new and useful experience. But I am feeling it now!
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