#hooray for ergonomics!

[darqx]

I FORGOT TO SHOW OFF THE AWESOME XMAS 2023 GIFTS I GOT (which technically came exactly in time for my bday a few months back - listen mail is slow ok...we were all worried they were at the bottom of the ocean - so I also consider them bday presents XD What great timing honestly lmao).

@cold-creature once again showing off her fine art skills with an amazing paper collage of Izm! I can't even with some of the fiddlyness of the paper cutouts - apparently she had to invest in some tiny ass tweezers for this omg XDD

The entire thought of these tiny bits of paper flying away with an exhale both makes me groan in sympathy but also laugh loudly LMAO.

@justonepurpose and @enbae not only sent me the CUTEST keychains starring my characs in different clothes (winter and Royal!Au respectively) but also a mouse and phone case (which I asked for since APPARENTLY I can't get them in my own damn country) and a mini shortcut keypad (which was a surprise) :D However they won't let me pay them back for anything 😐 So I'm still trying to decide on the best art thing to do to try and at least repay them for the awesomeness |D

[bettsfic]

i don’t want to bother my friends ranting about this thing i’m writing so for once i’m going to use my blog as an actual blog.

in what is becoming the grand tradition of going to writing residencies, i’ve pulled another “oh god i gotta finish this project before i go to this writing residency to work on a project.” 

in this case i’ve taken the stray threads of dirtbag that i couldn’t follow in fanfic and shoved the characters from baby into it. and...it’s working? i remember writing baby thinking, these are the right characters but this might not be the right story. and now i think i have the right story. all my other projects i’ve been hesitant about because editors would want to label them YA when they have way too much smut for that. not to mention, you know, they’re just not for younger audiences. this story can in no way be construed as YA. everybody’s old and miserable. hooray!

this thing has 7 alternating POV characters, 43 chapters, and spans 50 years. i had to build a whole-ass airtable database to keep track of character trajectories, back stories, and motivations. not to mention outlining it was so complicated i couldn’t use gdocs for it. airtable is the only way to keep a handle on the plot. but! it’s doing a very good job of it. it was just a bitch and a half to set up. 100% worth it to be able to locate all my ideas and notes easily.

i started working on it on monday and now it’s friday and it’s 45k words (some of it is taken from select scenes in dirtbag, some of it is from several trash docs repurposing some darlings, so it’s not a raw word count; i’d say what i’ve actually written is closer to 25k). i’m starting to have some hand problems so i’m going to take it easy over the weekend i think, and probably invest in an ergonomic keyboard.  

i honestly think one of the reasons this is going so smoothly is because of gdoc’s quality of life improvements. the way i used to draft involved a new document for every chapter, which gets confusing and annoying quick for big projects, but now i keep everything in one document and use the outlining feature for navigating and the drop-down menu feature for labeling what state of drafting each chapter is on. long projects have gotten sooooo much easier.

the best part is that i know all the major plot beats AND the ending. endings for original work have always been hard for me because i love my HEA, but literary fiction is all :/ about HEA endings*. but this one is too complicated for HEA, and anyway the whole thing is about secrets, so most of the conflict derives from a series of reveals. if you’ve been reading dirtbag, you’re getting a fraction of that already. it’s a lot of, how did we even get here? how have you made so many awful decisions and why?? the other conflict is, all these characters are distant from each other and they’re all slooooowly converging, which is one of my favorite plot structures.  

ALSO my entire writing life i’ve wanted to write a bank robbery book. this is it. it’s finally it. i have a father/daughter bank robbing duo and they are everything i’ve ever dreamed about writing. i never wrote about bank robberies before because i just don’t think they’re interesting enough to carry a whole plot. i mean, there are only so many ways to rob a bank? there’s only so much drama there? but in this case it’s only carrying a fraction of the plot. the only things i have to research now are cuckolding and dodging the vietnam draft. i bought a book on the latter, but i don’t think there’s a book on the former (besides darryl by jackie ess, shout out to darryl by jackie ess). to reddit, i guess.

this whole thing is going to be very overwhelming, i’m sure, and revisions will probably involve a lot of paring down and killing darlings, but that is a problem for future betts. current betts is just having a good time organizing her silly little airtable base and formatting her silly little story.

i’m also glad not to feel too fragile about this. i really thought vandal was going to get published but i’m just still so terrified of it being out in the world. i feel more like how i felt about zucchini, confident that it belonged somewhere and had an audience. i know what it is and so i don’t think, once it gets to a good enough place, that feedback will feel as jarring. the only thing i’m afraid of is my own hubris, where every time i start a project i think “this is going well! i’ll be finished soon!” and then it’s three years later and i’m wondering when i’ll pick it up again and if i’ll ever publish a book.

i’ll probably keep updates going because sometimes i just want to think about the process of writing it rather than writing it. i feel bad for not finishing the other fics i was planning to work on, but i’m just too excited about this. 

and for those reading dirtbag, don’t worry, it’s done and updates will continue twice a week.

* talking about endings in contemporary literary fiction is so funny to me because they’re all kind of awful. i had this running joke in my mfa cohort that every contemporary literary novel ends with a potluck. i mean it’s absurd how many lit novels end in a potluck.

[lazarustrashpit]

I’m still here

Sorry for the silence everyone. The company I worked for the past 5 years has closed down permanently and I’ve been trying to get my life back on track and finding more stable work, which has been incredibly difficult amidst this global pandemic.

However, with this newly found free time, I was able to get my office set up in a more ergonomically friendly way which means I can subject my body to hours and hours of illustrations. Hooray!

Things you can look out for:

There are a couple of sketch requests in my inbox that depression and life got in the way of, so I plan on completing those. Forgive me, those of you that requested and waited for so long (if you’re still around).

Commissions re-opening. I’m going to work on a new pricing table with updated pieces of art. Feel free to dm me if you’re interested, we can negotiate pricing in the meantime while I work on tables.

Threadless.com store for apparel and other random merch

Random fanart. I’ve been crazy obsessed with Obey Me lately and I’ve been itching to draw my favorite demon boyos, among all the other fandoms I still love and cry about.

Thanks for sticking around.

[sineala]

As a keyboard nerd/enthusiast, may I ask what type of shiny new keyboard you have? ^^

I now have a left-handed Maltron single-handed keyboard!

(The picture is not exactly the model I have; mine is a little newer and also a US model, so some of the keys are different but the basic shape is the same.)

I have cerebral palsy and have to type everything with my left hand; on a QWERTY keyboard I get about 30 wpm. I hadn’t bothered trying other keyboard layouts before because none of them promised to make me any faster than I already was, and so I didn’t see the point in switching.

But last year there was this post going around Tumblr making fun of these keyboards (”the left side is where I place my typing orb!”) which is how I discovered that they existed and that, furthermore, you can apparently get up to 85 wpm on one of these. And for 85 wpm... oh, yeah, I will definitely switch keyboards. If I get to 85 wpm I will cry tears of joy. (I will probably cry tears of joy at 50 wpm.)

The downside -- other than needing to learn a brand-new layout, obviously -- is that they are also super-expensive. Maltron is a small company that makes ergonomic keyboards and keyboards for people with disabilities, and I guess that’s enough of a niche market that the pricing is like this. On the plus side, they’re very well-made. But, like, this thing actually costs $500 new. So I stalked Ebay for months, and then in December, I finally found somebody with a bunch of these used for a price I was willing to pay. This was my expensive Christmas present to myself. Hooray.

So I have had this thing for about a month and as of today I have completed all the training lessons on the Maltron website to learn the layout. So I know where all the keys are without looking... but my wpm at this point is about 10, because I don’t exactly have the muscle memory yet. I can see how I’m definitely going to be able to be faster than on QWERTY, just because it requires so much less actual hand movement, but I’m not there yet. I guess I just... keep typing.

[sometimesrosy]

So, I started writing! More than 900 words, after months and months and months without writing! It felt good, although my neck really hurts. Hooray for many more days of writing! Thank you

Woo hoo! Congrats!

If you want to keep it up, work on developing a routine that fits with your life and the way your mind works. I like to write everyday, because I can lose momentum if I take breaks. 

If your neck already hurts from one session of writing, I suggest you take care with your posture, your writing station, your chair, your mouse and all ergonomic concerns.

Writing can be surprisingly physical. Make sure you take a break every 15 minutes or so to stretch out your neck, shoulders, back and wrists. 

I am doing a high daily wordcount right now and I am FEELNG it. 

Try googling exercises for neck tension or computer work or writing.

[kakaewpeak]

2009 macbook sd card

#2009 MACBOOK SD CARD DRIVER#

#2009 MACBOOK SD CARD BLUETOOTH#

Parm: pio:Use PIO accesses by default: 0=DMA, 1=PIO (int) Parm: verbose:Log message verbosity: 0=error, 1=warn, 2=info(default), 3=debug (int)

#2009 MACBOOK SD CARD BLUETOOTH#

Parm: btcoex:Enable Bluetooth coexistence (default on) (int) Parm: qos:Enable QOS support (default on) (int) Parm: nohwcrypt:Disable hardware encryption. Parm: hwpctl:Enable hardware-side power control (default off) (int) Parm: bad_frames_preempt:enable(1) / disable(0) Bad Frames Preemption (int) Vermagic: 3.13.0-24-generic SMP mod_unload modversions

#2009 MACBOOK SD CARD DRIVER#

# interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)ĭestination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Ifaceįilename: /lib/modules/3.13.0-24-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/b43/b43.koĭescription: Broadcom B43 wireless driver Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 V1.0īus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub My Passport 1TB USB 3.0īus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hubīus 003 Device 003: ID 045e:00db Microsoft Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hubīus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hubīus 004 Device 003: ID 1058:0748 Western Digital Technologies, Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)īus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hubīus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hubīus 001 Device 003: ID 05ac:8510 Apple, Inc. BCM2046B1 USB 2.0 Hub (part of BCM2046 Bluetooth)īus 002 Device 003: ID 0424:2512 Standard Microsystems Corp. Subsystem: Broadcom Corporation Device Ġ2:00.1 SD Host controller : Broadcom Corporation BCM57765/57785 SDXC/MMC Card Reader (rev 21)Ġ3:00.0 Network controller : Broadcom Corporation BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 02) Is there anyway to get the wireless adapter to work? But this is in an office and it's WiFi only. If I was using this computer at home that'd be fine. I've noticed some similar posts, however the only "solution" I've seen so far is to screw the wireless connection and buy a USB-ethernet adapter. I installed Ubuntu (hooray!) but upon booting into Ubuntu I discovered I have no network connection from the OS. So I'm attempting to dual-boot OS X 10.8.5 (native OS) and Ubuntu 14.04.

[beeapartments]

Still waiting on botox approval, so twiddling my thumbs a bit impatiently there. Thankfully my leg didn't bother me too much this week. I loved to sit with my legs bent and feet on the chair (my husband called me a shrimp for how I like to curl up, lol) but that hurts that one spot up too much now, so that has mostly ceased.

It's weird how muscles are with spasms like this (especially since its not the whole muscle). I have this one spot which is kind of perma sensitive/tender from using my shoulder and in turn overusing the affected muscle (medial gastrocnemius apparently). So even if I successfully avoid aggravating it to the point of actively aching, I still have to avoid applying much pressure to the area. This also affects sleep since I like to lay on my right side with my normal leg pressing against the affected one.

Good news is I finally figured out who to contact at work about the expensive ergonomic stuff I bought for my desk. The ergonomics guy was immediately fine with approving everything, so I've put those expenses through concur and hopefully will get that money back soon. Hooray!

[techlogicposts-blog]

 HOORAY! We won Platinum! Thanks to all the judges!

2018 Modern Library  Platinum Award Winner - CircTRAK™ Shelf Management System

 Every library knows that keeping the catalog  up-to-date saves patron frustration and preserves library funds wasted on  unnecessary replacements. 

Tech Logic's CircTRAK™ Shelf Management  System saves countless hours of time spent checking printed reports to locate  materials shown in the catalog as lost, missing, trace, claimed returned, or  other exception statuses.

 Libraries can  harness the built-in power of RFID to drive shelf management of the  collection. Every real-time scan of the shelves turns up materials in  exception statuses or materials that should have been checked in, placed in  transit, trapped for holds or were shelved incorrectly. 

Tech Logic's  portable, ergonomically friendly CircTRAK™ Shelf Management System interfaces  wirelessly with an ILS to check real-time item status information for shelved  materials. Real-time means no more frustrating export and loading of lists.  Software easy enough for all levels of staff to use. No more fruitless  searches for materials that should be on the shelf - and no more shelving  mistakes that cause unhappy patrons and wasted staff effort. 

 Finally libraries  have complete control over how they'll use the magic of RFID for time-saving  during collection management.

 Click here to  learn more about the CircTRAK Shelf Management System

 View the Modern Library  Awards results here!

[sandralmuller]

Nomad no more

I shed the ‘digital nomad’ label when I discovered that I was more of a ‘digital plonker’ – a location independent worker who prefers to stay in the one place for an extended period of time – than someone who prefers moving around on a nomadic journey through towns and cities and countries.

I tried the digital nomad lifestyle in Vietnam in 2016. I learned very quickly that I didn’t like working on the road or in hotel rooms where the desk and chair combo was far from ergonomic. While TJ and The Monsta were out exploring the streets of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, I was getting a crick in my neck while ploughing through client work.

So we plonked in Nha Trang for about 3 months and it was fab.

Perhaps the best thing to come out of our three-month digital nomadding experiment in Vietnam was that it sparked a major life change.

You can read about that here:

How a $15 bag of potatoes changed my life

And now, here we are in Korea. We’ve been in the same city for 2 years and 2 months. I consider that suitably plonked.

Perhaps I should adopt the expat label. According to the Macquarie Dictionary, it’s what I am:

Someone living or working in a country of which they are not a citizen.

Macquarie Dictionary

Our life of digital plonking in Korea will be over at the end of the year. I’m apprehensive and excited about moving back to Melbourne. I want to bring as much of the slow lifestyle we’ve built here back with us. I know things will be different and many things less convenient. But we’ll have carpet, wind-dried clothes and access to chicken Twisties. And my nose will be of average proportions. Hooray!

Moving to a completely new area of Melbourne – the Macedon Ranges – will also help mix things up for us. It won’t feel like we’re returning to the same place we left – literally and figuratively. There will be mountains and clean air and much less traffic.

Earlier this year I was felt dread every time I thought about moving back. I’m so glad I’m in a much more positive mindset about it.

In the interim, my bucket list of things to do before we leave continues to grow. We’re ticking them off one experience at a time.

Nomad no more was originally published on Sandra Muller

[adelatur]

firste, make ye thine corsetrye, and lerne ye from mine mystakes

I needed a corset for various sewing projects which had both a Victorian silhouette and provided the regency ‘boobs on a shelf’ look, and so when I found a pattern which did just that, I was like ‘my sewing problems are over’. 

I was wrong, on so many levels, as I will endeavour to explain below.

I measured myself, found the corresponding pattern size, and traced it out. The pattern recommended making a practice corset in waste fabric to check the size, but I was like ‘lol aint nobody got time fo’ dat’, so I figured that I would just measure the width of the pattern pieces, subtract the seam allowances, and have a vague idea of what I was working towards. The circumference I got was about 25 cm (10”) too large, but I was like ‘lol I must have measured wrong, I’ll just forge ahead’.

So I cut out all the pieces, and started making the thing. The first step was to insert the busk at the front, and the grommets at the back. This required an awl for stabbing through the fabric. I did not have an awl. What I did, however, have was a blemish extractor thingy from a manicure kit, but it had a stabby end, so I went with that. It worked serviceably well.

The next thing I needed to do was sew a straight line next to the busk pieces so that they would stay put. This was apparently beyond my skillset.

^I mean what the fuck.

So I gave up and just stitched it by hand.

Next, it was time to hammer in the grommets. Still lacking an awl, which I needed in order to punch a large enough hole in the fabric to get a grommet through, I improvised, combining the stabby thing with a pencil, which I used to enlarge the hole I started with the stabby thing. Then came the hammering. It turned out that while the grommet kit I purchased contained a die to set the grommets, it did not come with instructions as to how to orient the pieces when using it. As such, I managed to line up the pieces upside down and hammer the grommet into the die, getting everything stuck, and causing me to inadvertently stab myself a few times as I tried to work it free.

This is why we can’t have nice things. And then I got blood on the corset as a result of my accidental stab wounds, which was annoying.

With that horror complete, it was time to start piecing it together. This was nice, easy, straight line sewing. And then I tried it on to check fit. As it turned out, I had not measured something wrong. It was about 28 cm (11”) too large. Or about five sizes. Not having the time or the fabric necessary to start again, I improvised, taking in every seam, and just sewing down the middle of some of the wider pieces to make them narrower. I got it to the right measurement, but it wasn’t a fun improvisation process. 2/10, would not recommend.

Once it fit, it was time to deal with the boning. I already knew that precut and capped corset boning was considerably more expensive than buying continuous lengths of boning and cutting and capping it yourself. We’re talking 20-25% price disparity. So I figured ‘lol it can’t be that hard, let’s just DIY it’. This was the wrong move. As it turns out, while it is theoretically (and indeed, as I have proven, physically) possible to cut the boning yourself with some jewellery pliers, it’s not a fun process. It’s not going to be a fun process unless you have access to bolt cutters, which I did not. And then there’s capping the little fuckers. As it turns out, capping spiral steel requires two sets of flat pliers, at least one of them being ridged for grip, and above average grip strength.

While I had both of those, it wasn’t a fun process, because jewellery pliers are designed for things like cutting dainty fine-gauge wire, and squishing crimp beads. What is an ergonomic design for those gentle pursuits is no longer ergonomic when you’re trying to snip through spring steel, or crush little reinforced steel caps.

Once the boning was in, it was just a matter of sewing some ribbon to bind the edges and hide their fraying horror from the world (yay more hand stitching! hooray for historical accuracy!), and then it was time to thread in the lacing. I had found a roll of astonishingly cheap ribbon ($3 for like 200m) which I was to use for the lacing. So I figured out how much I would need, cut the length, and threaded the back. Now as it turns out, when your ribbon is super cheap, there’s probably a reason for that. I discovered that reason, when it snapped in like three places as I tightened it when I tried it on. Apparently I was #TooStrong.

So I went to my friendly neighbourhood fabric store, and bought some nice, sturdy, moderately priced inch-wide double satin ribbon, and used that instead. And it gave a much better effect both when loose (see photo below), and when tightened. Worth it.

Moral of the story is probably DON’T TRY TO CUT COSTS WHEN CORSETMAKING. If the pattern recommends making a mock-up to check fit before starting on the actual fabric, MAKE A MOCK-UP TO CHECK FIT BEFORE STARTING ON THE ACTUAL FABRIC. Instead of mangling your hands trying to cut and cap boning yourself, ACCEPT THAT THE PRICE PREMIUM IS YOU PAYING FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF SOMEONE WITH MACHINERY DOING IT FOR YOU AND BE THANKFUL. If your ribbon seems suspiciously cheap, THERE’S PROBABLY A REASON. Learn from me. 

And now, hooray for boobies! Because I managed to get some photos while the shitty lacing was in, and I’m actually pretty happy with how it turned out.

Please excuse both my horrifically unwashed hair, and the fact that it’s a bathroom mirror selfie. I hate mirror selfies on a deep and spiritual level, but this was the only way to get a decent front view, because literally every other photo ended up like the one below, where I was just dicking around.

[buildercar]

New Post has been published on http://www.buildercar.com/2018-acura-tlx-gets-a-midlife-refresh-and-brings-back-the-a-spec-package/

2018 Acura TLX Gets a Midlife Refresh and Brings Back the A-Spec Package

The midsize Acura TLX recently struck the age of three years old, setting it up perfectly for a midlife refresh. So, it was unsurprising to see a teaser of an updated model with a reveal date during the 2017 New York auto show. Now, Acura finally let the cat out of the bag on the updated 2018 TLX, which gets a new face and a whole smorgasbord of updates.

Bye-bye bird-beak

Starting with the obvious, the new Acura TLX incorporates the brand’s latest Precision Crafted Performance design language. That means a larger, but less controversial “diamond pentagon” grille style in place of the controversial and polarizing chrome beak — hooray! This was first seen on the updated 2017 Acura MDX. The front fascia also gets tweaked with new lower vents and fog lights, but the Jewel Eye LED headlights remain.

Furthermore, the TLX’s appearance continues varying depending on the engine choice and if the A-Spec package is selected. For instance, the base TLX with the four-cylinder gains all the updates but keeps it simple with a bespoke 17-inch wheel package. Opting for the V-6 adds a revised rear fascia with added flair featuring rectangular exhaust tips, an integrated diffuser and larger 19-inch kicks. Checking the box next to the TLX’s Advance (tech) Package adds trapezoidal LED fog lights to the front bumper.

The return of the A-Spec

Aside from the tweaked visuals, the biggest news in the aesthetic department is the revival of the A-Spec sport package, which can be had on four- and six-cylinder variants. It adds exclusive 19-inch dark-finish wheels, a performance body kit with sportier appearances, larger round dual-exhaust tips, and a gloss-black decklid trunk spoiler on the outside. Inside, the package adds red or black leather seats with Alcantara trimming throughout, standard options lifted from the Advance Package, and red LED ambient lighting. Despite the sportier exterior and interior bits, the new 2018 Acura TLX A-Spec is more than just an appearance package.

The last time the Acura’s middle offering featured the A-Spec package was on the third-generation TL from 2004. Like that previous model, the 2018 TLX A-Spec gains a sport-tuned suspension with stiffer dampers and spring rates, a thicker rear anti-roll bar, and a retuned and optimized electric power steering system. Those special 19-inch wheels are also wrapped in wide 245-series performance rubber.

Carryover power- and drivetrains

Speaking of which, does the A-Spec package include more power? Sadly, it does not, reflecting the fact that both engines and transmissions are carryover items for the entire TLX lineup. The standard choice is Honda’s venerable K24 2.4L i-VTEC naturally aspirated inline-four. The only other option is the larger and more powerful 3.5L i-VTEC V-6 with cylinder deactivation. Acura didn’t announce official figures for either engine, but there isn’t much expectation for deviation from the 2.4’s outgoing 206 horsepower or the 3.5’s 290hp. The base four-cylinder TLX is likely to still get an eight-speed DCT dual-clutch automatic while the V-6 retains the nine-speed auto.

Still lots of tech to enjoy

Known for offering incredible value and lots of standard equipment, the 2018 Acura TLX keeps with tradition by offering lots of standard and optional kit.

For instance, the 2018 TLX is the first Acura to get the company’s latest dual-screen user interface, dubbed On Demand Multi-Use Display 2.0. Supporting the latest in Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Sirius XM 2.0, Acura also promises the updated system offers improved response and loading times. Other changes include revisions to the menus and command hierarchies to improve ergonomics and ease of use.

With that seeming like standard affair, other signature technology for the TLX is the inclusion of Acura’s newest AcuraWatch safety suite. This makes passive and active safety systems like active and automatic emergency braking, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, radar-guided Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, and Road Departure Mitigation, are standard on every model.

Pricing and sales launch details aren’t yet available, but we expect those to surface in the near future.

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