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By ReallyEvilCanine (Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 03:14:15 AM EST) A Day in the Life, ergonmics, carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, quackery, fuckwits, pie (all tags)
But It's Wrong!

A few weeks ago they sent some bint calling herself an "Ergonomics Specialist" or some such nonsense to each cube. This was, no doubt, done at the insistence of the Works Council.

The "Ergonomic specialist" comes over to your cubedesk, looks around, makes a few notes, shuffles through some papers on her clipboard, and then starts telling you how everything that you've set up for your comfort is, in fact, not only terribly uncomfortable but also bad for you.

x-posted to da brog


I like my chair high enough that my feet can rest on the legs but don't touch the floor, allowing me to swing them on occasion. She went on and on about how bad that is, pulling out a chart showing "correct posture" which is much better for my back: standard 90° bends at the ass and knees with the feet flat on the floor.

ErgoBint: But that's very bad for you! The way you sit causes back pain.
REC: I sit this way to relieve my back pain.
EB: But it's the wrong position.
REC: Are you a doctor? Didn't think so. Let me tell you about back pain. I've had it for some 22 years ever since a 40-ton 18-wheeler slammed into the rear end of my 1974 Toyota Corolla.
EB: But it's the wrong position!

Wrong again. Oops.

She really hated my monitor, and since she has trouble reading it at 1600x1200, I too must have difficulty. It's very bad for my eyes and could cause Acute Retinal Splatitude with Complications or some other made-up ailment.

ErgoBint: That's very bad for your eyes to be looking at such small letters.
REC: How is it bad?
EB: I have to squint to see anything.
REC: Am I squinting?
EB: No, but letters shouldn't be that small on your monitor.
REC: Why?
EB: Because people have to squint!
REC: And that should bother me because...?
EB: Because it's bad for their eyes and they can't see.
REC: Nobody else should be looking at my monitor anyway. This is just an additional form of protection.
EB: But it's too small!

I changed the resolution to 2048×1536. Her jaw dropped.
REC: No, this is too small. I can still read it but now I have to strain. I reset the monitor.

She carried on about my keyboard.

ErgoBint: You should use an ergonomic keyboard.
REC: Don't want one. Don't like 'em.
EB: At least you have a wrist rest but you have it positioned wrong.
REC: No I don't. My wrists are on it.
EB: But it's not spaced properly! You could get carpal tunnel syndrome.
REC: Have you ever had carpal tunnel syndrome?
EB: No, because I...

I turned my hands palm up so she could see the scars on both wrists.
REC: I have. I know all about carpal tunnel. Are you going to tell me again that the most comfortable positioning I've chosen is actually very uncomfortable?
EB: But it's wrong...

On to the mouse. I have a Kensington Expert Mouse. It's a trackball, and good to combat CTS. Using a regular mouse even with a gel pad wrist support hurts after about five minutes. She didn't recognise what it was at first, didn't believe it was actually a mouse, and when confronted with the fact that it was indeed a mouse, began to tell me how wrong it was as well.

ErgoBint: You need to be able to move your hand.
REC: The motion with a regular mouse exacerbates the problem. I need this mouse.
EB: But it's wrong for the workplace!
REC: We've established you're not a doctor. I told the guy who cut my wrists open and who happens to be a surgeon and who practices here in Germany about this mouse. He recommends it to all his CTS patients. Shall I call so you can tell him how wrong he is?

I had to put up with her shit for about 20 minutes before she finally let go.

ErgoBint: You're not going to change a single thing, are you?
REC: Nope.
EB: You really should.
REC: Nope.
EB: That's not very open-minded.
REC: You're one of those people who believe that it's very important that motorcyclists wear that belt to protect their kidneys from the cold, don't you?
EB: Of course! It's VERY important! Do you have a kidney belt?
REC: Nope.1
EB: But what if your kidneys get cold? Or if you hit an uneven piece of road and bounce?!
REC: I got shock absorbers. Show me a picture of a runner or horse rider wearing one and I'll reconsider.

Horrors! Cold kidney disease! I'm sure the cure for that is the same as it is for every other $BullshitAilment they talk about in this country: Magnesium, Calcium and/or Zinc tablets. Maybe I can give some of those to Tony to cure his ailments caused by my evil monitor's electrical waves.

The only real surprise is that she didn't offer me advice on aligning my chakras. I'll bet a paycheck that in her off-hours she does crystal healing by appointment.

Fuckwits everywhere.

1 I don't even have a motorcycle anymore but she didn't know that.

< Dead or alive, you're coming with me | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >
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A Day in the Life | 66 comments (66 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback
Sounds very German by jump the ladder (2.00 / 0) #1 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 03:25:26 AM EST
Don't they have laws and armies of inspectors about the correct way to scratch your arse.



You might think by ReallyEvilCanine (2.00 / 0) #2 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 03:34:03 AM EST
It's almost a surprise that there aren't directions in the stalls about the correct way to wipe.

[ Parent ]

clearly by komet (4.00 / 1) #8 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:30:13 AM EST
you've never served in the German army.

--
<ni> komet: You are functionally illiterate as regards trashy erotica.
[ Parent ]

Warm Kidneys by Phage (4.00 / 1) #3 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 03:36:25 AM EST
Mmmmmmm...

I always found that a copy of The Telegraph under my jacket worked wonders when it was chilly. And it appeals to my skinflint nature.

It's like magic realism, but not shit. - Scrymarch.


Skinflint? by ambrosen (2.00 / 0) #9 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:34:13 AM EST
But there's cheaper papers than The Telegraph. Although I grant you, they may not be on sale in your neck of the woods.

[ Parent ]

Ah but... by Vulch (4.00 / 1) #12 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:49:33 AM EST

In the past the cheaper newspapers would have been tabloids. You want a broadsheet for complete wrap around cosiness.

[ Parent ]

True, that. by ambrosen (2.00 / 0) #16 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 05:03:15 AM EST
And nowadays, The Telegraph is cheaper than any other broadsheet on the market (except maybe The Birmingham Post, in my case).

[ Parent ]

Kidney belts? by squigs (2.00 / 0) #4 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 03:58:43 AM EST
What is that? What does it do?  And were people suffering from cold kidney syndrome before itwas invented?  Or does it actually have some practical use?

I'm really glad we don't have those people where I work.  Most of the things I've seen that are meant to be ergonomic are exteremly uncomfortable.  And I really hate those keyboard sweat absorbers.  Ewww.



Kidney belts by Phage (2.00 / 0) #5 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:04:08 AM EST
take many shapes and forms, but have two basic functions.
  1. To keep your middle warm when riding a bike. Some benefit is possible here, but you'd get more insulation from a newspaper.
  2. To protect your kidneys from damage by rapid accelerations and vertical movements as your kidneys are only held in (?!) by the viscera and not carbon fibre as ISG intended. This is total crap.
NB the integrated back protectots you see in some of those pics do protect the spine somewhat from impacts.

It's like magic realism, but not shit. - Scrymarch.
[ Parent ]

Yep by ReallyEvilCanine (2.00 / 0) #6 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:21:39 AM EST
1. To keep your middle warm when riding a bike.
Which any decent suit will already do in winter. Germans insist on wearing the things in summer, too. Apparently the breeze from the air rushing by is likewise unhealthy and can lead to $BullshitSyndrome.

To protect your kidneys from damage by rapid accelerations and vertical movements as your kidneys are only held in (?!) by the viscera
And strangely enough, despite the numerous physical problems which may befall them, I've yet to hear of a marathon runner or high jumper whose kidneys ripped out of place.

[ Parent ]

I hope you're not opening your windows by martingale (2.00 / 0) #7 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:27:58 AM EST
You'll be catching a cold!
--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

No, but my cow-orkers are by ReallyEvilCanine (2.00 / 0) #11 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:44:44 AM EST
Another day, another blog. I'm going to fucking strangle them.

[ Parent ]

Odd by squigs (2.00 / 0) #10 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:43:41 AM EST
I've yet to hear of a marathon runner or high jumper whose kidneys ripped out of place.

No.  That does seem silly.  I'm sure when people have fallen or been hit, medics are more concerned about trauma and broken bones than dislodged kidneys.

[ Parent ]

Indeed by Phage (2.00 / 0) #14 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:54:38 AM EST
In fact I have never heard of anyone other than martial artists taking injuries to the kidneys. Even if they were at risk from sudden movements, how is wrapping a piece of cloth/plastic around your middle going to stop them ? Unless...they've invented some inertia shield...and instead of using it in cars, planes, starships etc, they're making kidney belts.
That does sound a bit odd. Even for the Germans.

It's like magic realism, but not shit. - Scrymarch.
[ Parent ]

Decent suits are expensive by Phage (2.00 / 0) #13 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:50:28 AM EST
An old newspaper under the Belstaff works as well.

It's like magic realism, but not shit. - Scrymarch.
[ Parent ]

I thought the kidney belt thing was a joke by R343L (2.00 / 0) #23 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:00:11 AM EST
Apparently not. Shows what I know about motorcycling. I can see a belt for spine protection (seems more like a girdle though). But keeping your kidneys "warm"? WTF? Who thought that BS up?

Rachael

"There will be time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." -- Eliot
[ Parent ]

Real spine protectors look like Star Wars armor by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #25 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:10:48 AM EST
or some gladiator thing. A kidney belt is just silly.


[ Parent ]

holy hell that looks uncomfortable. nt by R343L (2.00 / 0) #26 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:12:53 AM EST


"There will be time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." -- Eliot
[ Parent ]

I wouldn't say I'm comfortable when I'm geared up by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #28 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:16:37 AM EST
with a helmet, heavy boots, heavy armored pants and heavy armored jacket and gloves, certainly not as comfortable as those young kids wearing flip flops, shorts and a tee shirt on their sport bikes, but I dress for the crash, not the ride.

I'm not very uncomfortable, I guess I'm used to it.


[ Parent ]

An icon of my youth by Phage (2.00 / 0) #60 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 11:01:09 PM EST
Were the kids on XL250s in exactly that attire. Somewhere I have a picture of one on the the then new GSXR750 !

It's like magic realism, but not shit. - Scrymarch.
[ Parent ]

Ooh! A ninja turtle! by ad hoc (4.00 / 1) #33 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 09:27:56 AM EST

--
Hypocrisy is the resin that holds the plywood of society together
[ Parent ]

It's just CYA by Breaker (4.00 / 3) #15 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 05:02:32 AM EST
Large companies (and indeed small ones) have to have these in place; it stops them being sued next time you have $ILLNESS.  As long as "training" is given, and monitored, they're in the clear. 

I believe that governmental H&S departments mandate the content of training; I can't see any company actually doing it's own research and basing recommendations on that.  Easier to make it the government's problem if a lawsuit is brought that the policy is wrong.




What Breaker says by yicky yacky (2.00 / 0) #20 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 05:49:46 AM EST

At one company I worked for, I had to sign a waiver insisting I would not hold the company accountable for any accidents which might befall me as a result of having my jacket draped over the back of my chair.

We were supposed to put "external garments" in the 'cloakroom' (a large wardrobe), except hundreds of pounds worth of stuff was mysteriously resituating itself from there each week, so I refused. Unfortunately, a number of people had also tried fleecing the company by claiming they'd had serious and life-changing accidents by rolling over their own chair-hanging coats and either suing or claiming on the company's insurance, hence H&S had decided it was a no-no.

It's got nothing to do with sense; it's to do with the expense of litigation and time.


----
Vacuity abhors a vacuum.
[ Parent ]

Mmm, that deadly jacket! by Breaker (2.00 / 0) #62 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 11:18:29 PM EST
Surely, it's the company's fault for not providing chairs which cannot have a jacket draped over them!


[ Parent ]

In my HR orientation... by toxicfur (4.00 / 1) #17 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 05:15:27 AM EST
there was an ergonomics person who actually had a sense of humor while she talked about all the bullshit stuff that ergonomics experts talk about. The only useful thing she said was that people with wrist problems often do better if they switch to mousing with their non-dominant hand. It seems to have helped ana. I use a trackpad since I have a laptop.

Thankfully, no ergonomics experts have inspected my office. I sit slouched in my chair with the back tilted as far back as it will go (not far - it's an office chair), my feet on a box and my laptop on my thighs. I rarely have any sort of back or wrist or any other kind of pain, but sometimes my feet go to sleep. However, an ergonomics person would likely be horrified. I'm sure there are good reasons for some stuff, but really, if people are comfortable, why should anyone else care?
-----
inspiritation: the effect of irritating someone so much it inspires them to do something about it. --BuggEye


I mouse with my left hand at work by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #18 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 05:19:09 AM EST
a cheap mouse that looks like a Storm Trooper helmet. I use the trackpad when I just have my laptop.


[ Parent ]

Trackpads are the bane of my existence by debacle (2.00 / 0) #51 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 06:56:28 PM EST
Don't you prefer the nipple to the trackpad?
IF YOU HAVE TWO FIRLES THOROWNF MONEY ART SUOCIDE GIRLS STRIPPER HPW CAN YPUS :OSE?!?!?!?(elcevisides).

[ Parent ]

Never thought I'd say this, but... by Cloaked User (2.00 / 0) #56 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 09:46:45 PM EST
Eeeewwwwww, nipple?! I hate those things; for me, the track pad is far easier to use.


--
This is not a psychotic episode. It is a cleansing moment of clarity.
[ Parent ]

I guess it's easier to manuever with a limp wrist by debacle (4.00 / 2) #59 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 10:53:07 PM EST
Yeah, that was a shot at your sexuality.

No, I didn't really mean it.

Yeah, I felt kinda bad about it.

No, I don't want a hug.

IF YOU HAVE TWO FIRLES THOROWNF MONEY ART SUOCIDE GIRLS STRIPPER HPW CAN YPUS :OSE?!?!?!?(elcevisides).

[ Parent ]

that just ain't natural by martingale (4.00 / 1) #64 Thu Nov 30, 2006 at 12:23:55 AM EST
No siree Cloak'. It's either the nipple, or the joystick. Trackpads? Dammit, that's for the weird people in Southpark!
--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

Nipples all the way by Phage (4.00 / 1) #61 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 11:05:17 PM EST
Trackpads are a tool of the devil. If I wanted to stroke something, it sure as hell wouldn't be my laptop.

It's like magic realism, but not shit. - Scrymarch.
[ Parent ]

we have by MillMan (4.00 / 1) #31 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 08:52:48 AM EST
a guy who has ergonomics as part of his job description. I asked him for an Aeron. He said no.

When I'm imprisoned as an enemy combatant, will you blog about it?
[ Parent ]

Aeron chairs by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #36 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 11:18:56 AM EST
That's what I like working for the remains of an old dotcom. We've got approximately four Aerons for every ass here.
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman
[ Parent ]

%$@#!#@$ hell- sell me one. by nstenz (2.00 / 0) #39 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 01:29:24 PM EST
Cheap!

[ Parent ]

Thanks. I just raised my seat. by greyrat (4.00 / 1) #19 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 05:39:58 AM EST
Much better. Now If I could just raise my monitors and keyboard too...



Differences by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #21 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 06:39:51 AM EST
Trackballs kill my hand in about twenty minutes. I don't get carpal tunnel, but I'm susceptible to some sort of RSI in the tendons of my hand if I use the mouse for long periods. (I.e. long game sessions.)

I wonder how many kidney belts they sell at Sturgis.

They recently traded my 1600x1200 work CRT for a 1280x1024 LCD. It's like trying to code through a porthole.
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman


i don't get large screens for code by R343L (2.00 / 0) #24 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:07:35 AM EST
Okay, you need a reasonably large screen but 75% plus of my (work) screen is not taken up by code or anything resembling it. Mostly it's browser, pdfs, mail, etc. Windows containing code are approximately 80 characters wide by 45 lines. I think this encourages me to keep functions short and sweet (and do only the work they need to) as well as to factor things out so it's easier to see what's going on.

So, for me, a small screen means "trying to read protocol specs through a porthole" not code. Code I could do on just about any size screen.

Rachael

"There will be time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." -- Eliot
[ Parent ]

code by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #27 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:16:27 AM EST
You don't have your IDE maximized?

I'm in heaven at home, because I can maximize Visual Studio on my 1920x1200 screen, and put two 120 col code windows next to each other. Especially nice for refactoring.
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman
[ Parent ]

IDE LOL what? by R343L (2.00 / 0) #29 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:48:17 AM EST
I hate IDEs because none let me integrate vim in a useful way. Plus our platform only supports eclipse right now (and not very usefully). In general, when using ides, they allowed me to not think in enough detail (but still get work done) such that when I needed to get to the details I had no idea how.

And don't you have like 80 character line limits or something? That's kind of hard to keep from going over all over the place with 120 cols.

Also, I'm not sure I would want to have refactor code that required looking at so much of it at once to figure it out well enough to refactor. :(

Rachael

"There will be time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." -- Eliot
[ Parent ]

No hard limits by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #30 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 08:10:55 AM EST
We don't have any standards, but people rarely go above 80 or so except in comments.

Having two windows helps refactoring because you can, for example, have the base class you're pulling things into next to the child class you're pulling things out of.
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman
[ Parent ]

oh, well then by R343L (2.00 / 0) #32 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 09:01:43 AM EST
I just pull up two vims or split the window. Same thing I guess.

Rachael

"There will be time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." -- Eliot
[ Parent ]

VIM and IDE's by ks1178 (2.00 / 0) #34 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 10:47:44 AM EST
If you ever do have to use an IDE in the future, I know Borland has, or at least used to have, a whole line of products that would add vi bindings to existing IDEs. So when in any of the text entry portions of the ide, you had the normal modes, and key commands.

[ Parent ]

well, just putting vi bindings by R343L (2.00 / 0) #35 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 11:13:36 AM EST
isn't what I really want. I want it to (like mutt or pine) just pop-in the editor of my choice in editor windows. $COMPANY's implementation of vi probably doesn't have random-command-I-really-like. :(

But I think it's asking too much. The best I've found on windows for this kind of editor integration is a button I added to my thunderbird to pop open a vim session to let me edit the mail there, then :wq puts it back in the regular compose window.

Rachael

"There will be time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." -- Eliot
[ Parent ]

While True VIM is best by ks1178 (2.00 / 0) #41 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 01:46:51 PM EST
If you have to use an ide, it's better than nothing.

I've only had to do it once, and I was able to pretty much do everything I wanted to do as if it was vim.

Copying and pasting worked the same. Substitute worked the same. Macro's worked the same. Save and all of those commands worked. Keys like %, {} w e etc all worked as expected.

While I didn't try some of the more advanced options like changing a text file into a hex and ascii dump (which it might even be able to do) I found it much more comfortable and don't remember any major things that I couldn't do.

It also integrated the features of the .Net Video Studio that make it useful to have the ide as well.

Like I said not the perfect solution, but a pretty good one, if you're ever in the case where you have to use and IDE, and you hate looking back at your code, and finding a bunch of i's x's and such all over the place. Or even worse, where hitting escape deletes everything you've just typed....

[ Parent ]

never! by martingale (2.00 / 0) #42 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 02:43:28 PM EST
There's little point in having an editor fully maximized, because you don't have a handy work area which doesn't overlap. I keep emacs vertically maximized to the side of the screen, then I have room for lots of small (80x25) terminals. Even in windows, I keep emacs that way, then I can keep several DOS boxes to the side.

But I agree with the real estate sentiment, that's why my window manager doesn't have any decorations whatsoever, except for a two pixel border. Once you're used to having no titles, no icons and no visible menus on any windows, using something suboptimal like on the microsoft platform is like peering into the dark ages, or browsing the web with advertisements visible.
--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

maximized by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #44 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:22:16 PM EST
I keep things maximized because that maximizes the amount of screen real-estate that is used for code.
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman
[ Parent ]

you code from memory? by martingale (2.00 / 0) #46 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:55:39 PM EST
where do you put online reference materials? For that matter, where do the log file viewers and handy scripts go in your setup?
--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

Z order by ucblockhead (4.00 / 1) #47 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 05:20:02 PM EST
Amazing but true: you can put reference material *behind* the code window and bring it to the front when you need to read.

But no, I don't use reference materials that much. Log files, scripts, etc. are, like, files and, like, a text editor can edit them. (Amazing, I know.)
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman
[ Parent ]

way too much work for my taste by martingale (2.00 / 0) #48 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 06:17:59 PM EST
If you like to flip windows a thousand times a day instead of just glancing to the left or right side of the screen as necessary, more power to you. Personally, I don't like the WIMP interface much, and that would give me an epileptic fit.

Editing log files is silly, I'm talking about viewing them in real time to follow what's going on in a program. I didn't know that MS studio allows an arbitrary shell script to execute inside its editor though, is it as painful as emacs' shell mode?
--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

1000 times? by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #50 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 06:55:00 PM EST
I honestly don't need near that much access to docs. I know the APIs I use fairly well. At most, I use Visual Studio's help, or google and a browser maybe once a day for docs.

We run all sorts of scripts inside Visual Studio. It's easy...you just create an empty project, make the shell the program to execute and the script as the command args. F5 executes, and it hits any breakpoints in any objects we use. In our case, we're using xpcshell to load xpcom objects. I typically run these javascript test scripts in VS so I can set breakpoints in the code for the objects themselves.

Our logging system is also written to dump text to the Visual Studio output window in addition to the log file.

In the cases where I need to have tail -f running, I typically do it on my laptop screen. (All of the above is done on a monitor attached to the laptop.) Generally, though, the laptop screen is just showing iTunes.

Thing is, when I'm coding, I want to look at the code, and just code. Outside Visual Studio, I use vim, and I generally have it maximized.
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman
[ Parent ]

not just the docs by martingale (2.00 / 0) #55 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:34:27 PM EST
It sounded like you'd be ALT-TABBING (or whatever you do to flip windows) a whole lot. If you did that once a minute when you're busy, it would add up to a few hundred times in an ordinary day, probably not a thousand obviously.

I'd be too limited with an IDE, as I often have to work out things in several radically different environments simultaneously. Emacs at least has enough modes to handle most things I throw at it in a consistent manner, but I'd go nuts if I didn't have focus follows mouse and even just had to click on a window each time I want to switch to it. For the same reason, I'll often open several independent emacs windows, just so I don't have to switch buffers (or relayout the editor windows) more than necessary.
--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

I'm a coder by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #66 Fri Dec 01, 2006 at 02:23:52 PM EST
I write code. That is, I open editors and type for long periods. If I'm constantly flipping back and forth, I haven't coded right in the first place.
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman
[ Parent ]

You must be using some new fangled OS by debacle (2.00 / 0) #52 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:01:02 PM EST
That makes it easy to tab through fifteen different windows of information that looks almost the same.
IF YOU HAVE TWO FIRLES THOROWNF MONEY ART SUOCIDE GIRLS STRIPPER HPW CAN YPUS :OSE?!?!?!?(elcevisides).

[ Parent ]

Mostly, yes. by Cloaked User (2.00 / 0) #57 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 09:52:00 PM EST
On those occasions I do need to google for something, FF is an alt-tab away; similarly log files, DB/LDAP clients, etc. My handy scripts are all ant scripts, available from the Ant view in Eclipse.

Eclipse displays enough (useful) supplementary information around the code (such as the Ant view) that not having it maximised would reduce my productivity. Don't get me wrong, I can develop with vim and ant if I need to; I just never need to.


--
This is not a psychotic episode. It is a cleansing moment of clarity.
[ Parent ]

that's the key by martingale (2.00 / 0) #65 Thu Nov 30, 2006 at 12:26:00 AM EST
If it displays already all you need without having to do any work or press funny keystrokes to see it, then it's doing it's job.


--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

I develop on a small laptop by miker2 (2.00 / 0) #37 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 11:50:27 AM EST
Our work laptops (Dell Latitude D610's) have little 14" non-widescreens and I can write code with it all day.  I do like having the 19" LCD plugged into in when pair programming only to make it easier for the other person.

That said, I'm still getting a 20" widescreen for my macbook pro when I get the chance.

Ah, sociopathy. How warm, how comforting, thy sweet embrace. - MNS
[ Parent ]

wide screen laptops & docking stations by R343L (2.00 / 0) #38 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 12:52:13 PM EST
I used to work on just the laptop eschewing the docking station when we had these CRTs that made my eyes hurt. Then they bought these pretty large LCDs and I started using the dock again. OoooOOooo, pretty.

Rachael

"There will be time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." -- Eliot
[ Parent ]

Need. big. screen. to. code. by nstenz (2.00 / 0) #40 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 01:42:13 PM EST
I can't stand writing (or at least reading) code at anything under 1280x1024. The new wide screen laptops are pissing me off because I need a new one, but I want a taller screen. When I'm in the office, my laptop gets an external monitor so I can have 1280 on a 19" screen. When I'm stuck with my 15" laptop screen at 1024x768, I'm only 50-75% as productive. It's a hell of a lot easier to know exactly what's going on when you can glance at the screen without scrolling. The stuff we write doesn't generally work too well as 'short and sweet' functions (lots of DB manipulation with big SELECT statements and whatnot).

Wide screens are useless for coding. Really long lines are just a pain in the ass, and I prefer comments to come before a block of code, not inlined to the right of it (which doesn't work well in the languages I used regularly anyhow).

[ Parent ]

what I would do by martingale (2.00 / 0) #43 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 02:47:19 PM EST
I'd connect an external keyboard, then turn the laptop on its side, and use the XRANDR extension to rotate the X11 screen (assuming the graphics card is supported). Not sure how this might interfere with subpixel rendering, though.
--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

Maybe if it was a tablet PC. by nstenz (2.00 / 0) #45 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 04:39:17 PM EST
Then it would be tall enough, but not wide enough. I like the general 4:3/5:4 ratio.

[ Parent ]

heh by martingale (2.00 / 0) #49 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 06:25:13 PM EST
I spent some time choosing font sizes just right in the apps I use, so that the windows all have the same initial sizes. That way I can always fill my screen with a standard number of non-overlapping windows. Works especially well when the window manager implements snap to the nearest window.
--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

Wide screens are useless? by Cloaked User (2.00 / 0) #58 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 09:57:55 PM EST
I'll grant you that you don't want lines of code that are too long (my personal preference is 100 - 120 chars; our rules say 100 max), but that doesn't necessarily mean that a wide screen is useless. Most IDEs will allow you to display supplementary information alongside the code, and failing that you can always have a window of documentation or a terminal or something alongside your IDE/editor.


--
This is not a psychotic episode. It is a cleansing moment of clarity.
[ Parent ]

When I left by Breaker (2.00 / 0) #63 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 11:26:49 PM EST
$LARGE_CANUCKISTAN_INVESTMENT_BANK_OF_DOOOOOOM, I left behind twin 1600x1200 30" monitors.  A year on, I'm just about adjusting to 1024x768.

If they took my second monitor though, I'd probably quit.  I even hate writing code on my laptop as I'm used to having the IDE take up 1.5 monitors (enough for a view of the code and the watch window), then the remaining half a monitor for the app itself.


[ Parent ]

interesting by Merekat (2.00 / 0) #22 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 06:41:45 AM EST
I do the ergonomics part of our HR induction. My attitude is that you can choose to listen to me or you can make your own way towards long term back pain, eye strain, RSI and all that. However, my first advice is that anything told to the person by a medical practitioner trumps anything I say.

You seem to meet a lot of fuckwits. What does that imply?



He's got a keen sense of a person's worth [nt] by debacle (2.00 / 0) #53 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:07:11 PM EST

IF YOU HAVE TWO FIRLES THOROWNF MONEY ART SUOCIDE GIRLS STRIPPER HPW CAN YPUS :OSE?!?!?!?(elcevisides).

[ Parent ]

Your diaries really are the best [nt] by debacle (2.00 / 0) #54 Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 07:07:32 PM EST

IF YOU HAVE TWO FIRLES THOROWNF MONEY ART SUOCIDE GIRLS STRIPPER HPW CAN YPUS :OSE?!?!?!?(elcevisides).



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