with lumbar support. And I’ve got a real find, a ‘laptop cart’ from Office Depot, rolls right up to the chair at the right height, and better yet, the top can lift off and become a lapdesk. Best little laptop support going. laptop cart
Back’s been killing me. I got a new chair…
by CJ | May 5, 2016 | Journal | 44 comments
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Back problems are so troublesome. I have occasional issues (really just some pain, nothing truly debilitating), so I try to be mindful, including how and where to sit. I once tweeked it pretty badly the day before a long-needed vacation. Decided to go on, and the long ride in the car (with me as the passenger) really helped. The MINI seats were very supportive, with the added bonus of seat heaters! Didn’t fully restore me, but what I as afraid would be a bad day turned out to be just the opposite. Enjoy your new setup!
There’s something about car seats that works wonders for a bad back. I threw my back out at the start of a vacation and was not looking forward to a 2-3 hour drive. Surprisingly, the car seat was more comfy than any landbound chair, recliner or bed! CJ, maybe you and Jane should plan another road trip, just for the sake of your back and not because of huckleberry slumps or friends to visit, y’know…
I’ve always thought that Toyota should quit fooling around with this car manufacturing gig and concentrate on making their supremely supportive seats. The one “chair” I own that has never sent my back into a spasm is on the 2004 Matrix.
I don’t know that Toyota does make their own seats…I know that Honda’s seats are made by a company about 70 miles from Marysville, OH (where the big assembly plant is located). The chassis components are made by another company called F & P in Troy, OH, NKP makes other parts for Honda and Toyota……I don’t know how the “Big Three” U.S. manufacturers get their components.
And SpaceX just stuck another barge landing! I hope this means they have that problem licked.
magnificent.
http://www.space.com/32811-spacex-rocket-landing-jcsat-14-launch.html
Toes crossed that your back is improving. A drive with perhaps a good meal thrown in might be good for a change all around.
The laptop cart looks like it would fit the bill for many uses both in home and studio.
How is your pond? We have had such rainy, cool weather that our fish are hiding down at the bottom!
A few years ago I bought a spendy Eurotech Wau chair for my back because it’s very adjustable.
Most “ergonomic” chairs don’t work for me because I’m 6’2″ and the supposed “lumbar” support is too low. They hit me in the sacrum, forcing it “out” and leaving a void behind my lumbar spine–exactly the reverse of what they should do! 🙁
With the Wau chair the whole back can be moved higher so the lumbar support gets to the right place. And the curvature is also adjustable.
I have two problems with it. 1) The back reclines but the seat stays level, which means with anything but bolt-upright one’s butt tends to slide forward if one is fidgety. 2) It’s just not “comfy”, so one tends to get fidgety.
So I had an old, straight-back, well padded chair I bought 30 years ago, that reclines as a unit, recovered with a fairly coarse, grippy, olefin fabric. I use it predominantly.
A few years ago they renovated our floors of the building, and we got new ergonomic chairs. Which I couldn’t stand: they didn’t fit me correctly anywhere. The old chairs were more comfortable, so I kept mine – someone got the ergo chair that was supposed to be mine. Heck, the conference-room chairs were more comfortable (Knoll – and one of them cost about two weeks take-home pay for me, for the fairly basic versions we had).
You’ve heard about the woman on an American Airlines flight caused a 2-hour delay, and the expulsion of another passenger, an Italian math professor from UPenn, for doing differential equations on a notepad in the plane? She thought him a terrorist from Al-Gebra!
I did hear about that. I am flying on Friday and it just makes me crazy to think that someone that took a dislike to me could disrupt the whole plane for silliness.
Every once in a while lately, I hear/see something on the news and I almost wonder if I’ve somehow woken up in some Star Trek / Sliders alternate universe timeline. World or local, sometimes the level of ignorance or crazy-stupid is just scary.
Item: A post from one of the online dictioaries was on how the alphabet developed in Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and into Enlightenment and early modern times. One of the comments almost sounddd like satire or a bad joke, like the Al-Gebra bit above. The commenter complained that it wsan’t natural to have more or fewer letters in the alphabet, that wasn’t God’s way, and so on and so forth…someone who clearly knew nothing about the history of the book(s) she wanted to take so literally. It makes one wonder about the level of education and intelligence (and gullibility) going on there. (There were further posts in which the commenter argued with other commenters. One fears it was not satire, but misinformed and misplaced belief.)
Item: Some of the nonsense coming out of more than one current presidential candidate is just about as equally worrisome. I hope for a better situation all around. At least there’s more than one candidate who is not so dazzlingly a bad idea for a candidate. But that there is more than candidate who is such a bad idea for who might be nominated or actually be voted into office…. Eegads.
Yet I think (and hope) that most people have better common sense than that.
How *does* one get from those off-kilter alternate timelines back to the right one? Is there a handy multi-dimensional Door Number 1, 2, and 3? A handy Guardian of Forever or TARDIS? Or Stargate, Wormhole, or other such thingamajig?
Ironic Note: “algebra” actually is a borrowing from an Arabic word from the Middle Ages. So are alchemy and algorithm and alcohol and a number of others.
But I personally wonder at someone who’d see a notepad of calculus and physics equations and conclude that was evidence that a man of whatever Mediterranean appearance was therefore up to no good. But then, I’m not someone who’d think of calculus notation or of non-northern European appearance as all that unusual. Around 1/3 of the people in my city are not of northern European heritage.
Meh, I’m extra curmudgeon-y tonight. Maybe I’ll be better in a couple of days.
“The word algebra comes from the Arabic الجبر (al-jabr “restoration”) from the title of the book Ilm al-jabr wa’l-muḳābala by al-Khwarizmi.” The methods we all were taught in grade school arithmetic, for addition, multiplication, square-roots, etc., were algorithms. The word was derived from the name al-Khwarizmi as it was Latinized as Algoritmi.
And, of course, we use Arabic numerals, instead of Roman or Babylonian, though the Babylonian bases, 12 and 60, persist. Wikipedia suggests, “The most common iterative method of square root calculation by hand is known as the “Babylonian method” or “Heron’s method” after the first-century Greek philosopher Heron [aka Hero] of Alexandria, who first described it. The method uses the same iterative scheme as the [Sir Isaac] Newton–Raphson method”…”
Well, they’re really Indian numerals (including zero and place notation) that the Arabic-speaking world borrowed, and then Europe borrowed them from the Arabic scholars and traders. … And somehow, most of Asia came to use the European-style Arabic numerals, rather than locally Asian modified versions of the Hindu-Arabic numeral forms. Yet Asian writing systems retain their old native number systems (much like Europe still has Roman and Greek numbering). But it’s key that the Indian development of a base ten numbering system with zero and place notation (ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.) was such a useful innovation that everyone worldwide uses it, with a few local variations in how the written forms look.
Awfully quiet over on the Net…Jane must be super busy……haven’t seen any news on Wiishu, Pooki, or any thing else. Last entry was on the Xfinity switch…..
Joekc6nlx, perhaps they’re on the road (or plane) to Chicago for the SFWA conference where CJ will be formally appointed a Damon Knight Grand Master. ‘BOUT TIME!
Chris and I are going and hope to see them there. If anyone else is going, please let me know.
Warrior, it might be better not to talk about possible absenses on the web; we don’t want their housesitter confronted with burglars who might see a chance.
The last time she posted on HOTN was April 2……she used to post quite regularly……
Yeah, Jane’s been too busy around the house and garden to talk to us for a long time. I miss her too.
We can still mutter amongst ourselves 🙂 It’s nice that Jane and CJ choose to post and talk with us, but RL takes precedence. Keep the fishies, kitties, house and self happy!
Ok, I have a question of the Amazon Prime users. I am wondering if it is worth the cost? I rarely watch the DVD’s I own. I’m not sure how much I would save in shipping, which would be my main reason since they have raised the free shipping amount to above $49. I need a new remote for my Blu-ray player, before I make any sort of change. I waited too long to set it up and the batteries corroded inside the remote.
I have the lowest speed Internet connection at home, would that be enough, or would I need to increase? I don’t blame my tablet, but it can be horribly slow at times during the evening. I presume movie downloads would be just as slow through Prime.
Other than shipping, are you happy with Amazon Prime?
I don’t use Prime, because I’m not sure of the benefit. It’s rare I need something from Amazon so fast I can’t wait to add it to a stack of other things to make up the ‘free shipping’ amount; usually if I need it that fast, it’s also something spendy and I get free shipping anyway. We have a Roku box with Netflix for most of our video needs. So far, I haven’t seen anything that convinces me I need to pay Amazon extra for fast shipping that ain’t all that fast out here to the middle of the Pacific.
Not quite off topic – I’m patient enough that I order movies from the library even using inter-library loan if need be. I started at #500 & something for “The Martian” and just finished it. This is free (or $1 for postage sometimes).
I find that the Prime Videos are tremendous fun. I watched the pilot episode of “That Girl” last night. What a hoot! It works well for us.
However, we just upgraded to a cable connection. On our old DSL connection Prime was watchable, but did skip occasionally. If you have trouble watching Netflix or Hulu I think you will have the same problems with Prime (sadly).
I don’t know if it “worth it”, but OMG I get stuff like overnight! Of course, we live in a big city. But still, don’t those people sleep? It is actually a little unsettling. As BlueCatShip mentioned above, I think I am in a whole different universe. I remember dumping out my piggy bank and looking through catalogs for christmas gifts in September so I would be sure to get them ordered and delivered in time!
I am going to Chicago tomorrow. Yay! I hope our seats for the SWFA banquet are not all the way in the back. It will be so great to see CJ get her award.
Elrond, get some pics for us, and have fun!
Elrond, I’m here with my spouse – would LOVE to get together in Cherryh admiration! We’ll be at the banquet, but we’ll also be doing workshops tomorrow afternoon. I can be emailed at yahoo using my moniker here. Thanks!
The Aspie
Facts, data, can be like bricks.
Some minds stumble over them,
kick aside the hard ones.
Some minds collect them in a pile.
Some minds build things.
They bring the good ones home.
They have places to fit them.
We’re differently-abled.
Off-Topic: I had a minor education in current pricing and bargain hunting today.
I also had another reminder that I really, really don’t need to go barefoot in the kitchen, even though it’s summer. From now on, no more going barefoot and no flip-flops while doing any work in the kitchen.
Overnight, I heated some leftover sweet and sour chicken (store-bought, not homemade) and I was carrying it from the kitchen to the office bedroom. (I was going to rewatch a science fiction video.)
The Pyrex bowl slipped from the plate and hit the tile floor and shattered, and there I was, with Pyrex glass and hot, sticky food between me and my shoes. I made it over and through without cutting my feet, washed my feet, and put on shoes. I then swept up, extra careful, and vaccuumed.
I couldn’t recall for sure what size Pyrex bowl that was, so I spent time looking at my others to find which size was missing. It was a 1 quart (4 cup) bowl.
I then got a slight education in price points. I figured out that between onilne shipping versus time and money spent going across town to a local store (Walmart or Target) or seeing if my local grocery store would have them, it cost me less to buy online and have it shipped. it’s 30 min. across town to the nearest Walmart, over 45 min. to the next-nearest or to Target, and then the same back.
Looking online, I found that buying a set of two is a better bargain than buying a single Pyrex bowl, and in some sizes, buying four instead of two is a better bargain. The price was around 75% for one (or two) versus two (or four), depending on the size you want to get. So you’d pay closer to three times to get twice as many. For some, it’s only a bit less than double the price, so it’s no bargain. But for others, it’s as much as 75% for one (or two) versus two (or four); $18 versus $22 in one case, $21 or $22 versus $34 in another case, but only $8 versus $15 in another, depending on the size of the bowl in cups or quarts. By the time you factor in shipping, you generally get a better bargain to get two or four, versus one or two. Depenidng on the size and the number of bowls, prices ranged from $7 or $8 on up to $34 or $35. I didn’t look at the multi-size sets, as I didn’t need them.
So I will have a net gain of an extra cooking / storage bowl, 1 quart (4 cup) Pyrex.
Aside from the aside: I think I’m going to put a pair of shoes in the living room or utility room, so they’ll be on the other side of the kitchen from the bedroom/bathroom. But I intend to make a rule not to go barefoot in the kitchen anymore. Bad vision and over 50 now. I don’t want a broken toe or cut feet. I risked that again this time. Not a good idea. It’s tempting because it’s summer and it’s in my own home. But no, bad idea. In the rest of the house, barefoot or flip-flops or slippers, OK. But not while working in the kitchen or other housework. Don’t want to risk the ol’ feet.
As a cultural sidelight, you may want to note that Pyrex as a brand name was sold years ago to a different concern than Corning, who produced the original borosilicate, laboratory-tough ovenware. The new stuff is soda glass and much less durable. You may want to look in secondhand shops and resellers like ebay for the original Corningware/Pyrex (another good brand is old FireKing) if you want the same toughness.
BCS, you’re on the right track. It is recommended to keep a pair of old shoes or rubber-soled slippers tucked under one’s bed. In some disasters, tornado/hurricane there in south Texas, earthquake here in the PNW, windows can be shattered, throwing shards over one’s bedroom. Even in a fire, one is ill-advised to go around barefoot! 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM09ZUmLGIo 3m48 and the last place I expected Atevi to turn up;but it seems appropriate.
[My father built a secret door – his had actual shelves, top to bottom, with no visible handle on the shelf side. (The latch had a remote operator with a special tool that lived on one of the shelves.) It was at the bottom of the basement stairs, and had a door to either side, so the shelves looked perfectly normal.]
“I kid you not!” In today’s news…
Experts Held a Secret Meeting to Consider Building a Human Genome From Scratch Earlier this week, over a hundred scientists, lawyers, and entrepreneurs gathered to discuss the radical possibility of creating a synthetic human genome. Strangely, journalists were not invited, and attendees were told to keep a tight lip. Which, given the weighty subject matter, is obvious cause for concern.
Welcome to Cyteen! Thank you for joining our tour.
Yellowstone Tourists Put Baby Bison in Car Over Fears It Was Cold Two tourists visiting Yellowstone National Park were ticketed earlier this week after they allegedly put a baby bison inside their vehicle over fears the calf was freezing, witnesses say. The father and son, who were from another country, appeared to be concerned over the health of the animal when they arrived with it in the trunk of their SUV at a ranger station on Monday, EastIdahoNews.com reports. “They were demanding to speak with a ranger,” witness Karen Richardson, of Idaho, told the news site.
IMO, it’s only happenstance that they weren’t Americans. Americans are so “citified”, as a whole they’re clueless, unqualified to have an informed opinion, about “managing” the natural world.
Attempts to reunite the calf with its mother failed! Apparently it’s imprinting on bison wasn’t strong enough for it to approach a seemingly anonymous herd of bison when released in the area it was taken from–it wouldn’t leave the roadside. It was euthanized over fears that fostering would introduce brucellosis to the herd. Nice goin’, Dad!
I have to wonder if the bison couldn’t be given to a zoo since it had been acclimatized to people. Such a waste to kill the little thing.
I suppose if we were to try to actually create a human life, the most useful thing might be to gather all the Neanderthal genes we can get, correct any known genetic problems, and raise him or her. Some genetically disabled (or different-abled) parents want a child with their same genes, so I think we’ve rather crossed the bridge of intentionally birthing a person with known genetic problems.
It hadn’t been imprinted on people. It was only a matter of the time it took those misguided people to get to a ranger, and them to bring it back. With predation, bison cows aren’t programmed to carry on searching for a missing calf. The calf has to stay with her. Once it was carried away, its fate was sealed.
When was the last time you saw a bison in a zoo? No, there are ranches that raise bison, that’d be the better choice, but there’s no time to get it to one. But it would never be “re-wilded” over the brucellosis threat to wild herds.
IMO, the issue is ignorant (factually, not pejoratively) people thinking they know more than they do, and what they want to do “off the cuff” is the right thing. It never occurred to these people that bison calves have been surviving spring weather for tens of thousands of years without human help.
On a broader scale, it’s the disrespect for expertise that’s promulgated by certain political affiliations. TCMITS isn’t qualified to be a “director”.
On Reddit:
What is the stupidest thing you have ever seen a tourist do inside a national park?
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/4jjibg/park_rangers_of_reddit_what_is_the_stupidest/
OMG. People behaving badly/stupidly all over the place. At least when I encountered an emu in the wild by accident, I was smart enough to beat a hasty retreat. Modern velociraptor, no thanks!
John Scalzi has a set of photos from the Nebula Awards.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/scalzi/sets/72157668377237626/
I’d posted the link a couple of days ago in the thread where CJ told us about the award….it kind of got buried…. oh well, thanks for resurrecting it….
Excellent! Every person looks like someone I would like to sit and talk with! I think that is probably the mark of a truly great portraitist.