Recent Articles

“Active Desk” – Its Time Is Now

The March-April 2010 issue of The Futurist has a brief article “Overcoming the ‘Desk Potato’ Syndrome.”   This product would be good for people like me, who  spend most of the day sitting at a desk and whose waist shows the signs of that sitting.  Yes, I know sitting at a desk is not the only cause of a big waist.

The ‘Active Desk’ is elevated so that one can work while walking on a treadmill.  This could work well in pipeline control centers.   I’ve been in a few control centers that have desks which elevate so the controller can stand.  Some control centers have treadmills in another room, but controllers don’t like to leave their workstations to use the treadmill.

Exercise is one method for alleviating stress and fatigue.   The ‘Active Desk’ was developed by the University of California, San Diego.  More information about the ‘Active Desk’ is available at http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/general/11-09ActiveDesk.asp.

Posted February 8th, 2010 in In the News, Managing Fatigue

Sleep Apnea – Article in Wall St. Journal 02/02/10

Do you snore loudly and often? Are you sleepy during the day? Are you fat or obese, with a big neck? Do you sweat excessively? It might be time to have a sleep study, to determine if you have sleep apnea. It’s been about eight years since I had a sleep study that revealed my breathing was stopping hundreds of times during the night when I was trying to sleep.

I began using a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pathway) machine that keeps the airway in my throat open. The difference in my energy level was AMAZING when I started sleeping all night, instead of thinking I was sleeping. There are risks to your health from sleep apnea. What might happen if one stops breathing hundreds of time? The worse case scenario is death.

People on shift work already know the effects of fatigue. If you are a shift worker, who answered yes to the questions above, see your doctor soon. Here’s the link to the article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204575039101390202576.html

Posted February 2nd, 2010 in In the News, Managing Fatigue

Crayola Colors: Sign of Complexity?

One of my Facebook friends posted a picture illustrating the evolution of Crayola crayons, from eight colors in 1903 to 120 colors now. I started thinking this is an excellent representation of today’s complexity. Life was simpler when I was a child 50 years ago. I remember when Crayola introduced 64 colors. Now there are 120 colors. There are more shades of meaning that can be expressed with additional colors.

Would any of us want to live as people did in 1903? I applaud and celebrate progress. What I want to remember is that life is more complex, which requires more attention to planning and risk analysis.

Posted January 27th, 2010 in Observations