Plan Ideas

The biggest problem I had with the Zero 1 Festival, was the often lumbering and awkward presentation that kept cropping up. Even professor Wright, a woman who willingly went to Finland in winter -thus a proven tolerance for slowly paced days- complained about dullness of many of the speakers.
Of course, artists arent necessarily entertainers, and theres a reason artistic/instructional presentations arent called performances. Artists have numerous (sometimes contradictory) responsibilities expect of them, some of which have legal force behind them, such as plagiarism and copyright infringements. Demanding artists create entertainment along with material that moves or improves the human state isnt realistic. Indeed, since a great many things that we need desperately arent likely to be entertaining at all (undergoing surgery comes to mind), insisting art be "fun" while it is trying to perform far loftier goals would be petulantly foolish.
However, I think it safe to say that art, well, should be fun dammit. Learning new concepts is vastly easier when its entertaining. This is true when its presented through impersonal book form, and even more so when an engaging teacher becomes involved. In order to work art has to connect with the viewer, to get inside them somehow and cause change. Boring art (despite what, as a pun, that would imply) doesnt do that very well. In my experience in fact, boring art creates its own barriers limiting its absorption by the audience. Things that bore and disappoint can create hostility directed back at them.
In a situation in which artistic presentations are also calls for funding or action by the public, disinterest could not be more lethal. Yet some of the speakers created painfully monotone reports and slide-shows that would likely disappoint corportate middle-managers. Im sorry, but the first segment of Friday, proposing an ingenious bio-mechanical clock/park based upon the cult-classic film Silent Running, was one of the most boring lectures Ive ever attended. (And once took an astronomy class as a city college.)
When the issues are this important, and the entertaining distractions around your audience as numerous as they are today, presenters can afford to assume their audience is educated and patient, they can not afford to drone.

Sometimes it seems I just have too many BIG projects to complete! So, when I find something I can accomplish quickly and easily and that will bring some order and some "pretty" into my life, I am very happy. Not a home improvement idea, but I had to share this...

1. Download the FREE app Key Ring onto your smart phone!! This app lets you enter all your cards and then you can just scan from your phone. It slso lets you download deals for your cards. So, toss those messy tags and clean out your wallets.
2. Pitch any keys that you are dumbfounded as to what they were ever for and how they even got on your ring.  If your worried you may realize what they are for and desperately need them (murphys law)  just put them aside.
3. Get yourself a new keyring to show off your now organized personality. I love the Finderskeypurse. Visit http://finderskeypurse.com or amazon. Tons of styles and you can hook it onto the side of your bag. That means no more searching for your keys, because if your bag is like mine, it is a seemingly endless pit. My husband and sons are terrified of my purse! They dont understand my organized chaos and fixing that is another story.

Office chairs are essential to have around an office, yet they offer so many features. For people of all sizes, adjusting an office chair is something we all should know.

You should adjust the height of the chair so that your feet are able to rest comfortably on the floor, with your thighs horizontal. If your feet cannot rest on the floor, youll need a footrest.

If your office chair has a pneumatic level, height adjustment can be accomplished from a seated position. In order to raise or lower the height of older office chairs, youll need to stand in front and rotate the seat clockwise or counter clockwise. Youll know the height is right when the height of the seat pan is just below the height of your knee caps.

You should alchoices avoid situations where your feet dangle, as this will compress the tissue on the back of your thighs and behind your knees, also leading to aches and discomfort in the lower legs. There should be a space about the width of a clenched fist between the back of the knees and front of the chair.

If there isnt, lower the chair slightly. If the chair has the ability, tilt the seat pan forward to slightly relieve the pressure. You may need a foot rest. The rounded edge on many office chairs will also help to prevent uncomfortable pressure behind the knees.

At your desk, your office chair should be adjusted to accomodate the working surface. What this means, is that your chair should be raised high enough to keep your sitting comfortably at your desk.

Adjusting the backrest. You should adjust the backrest so that it supports the lumbar area of your lower back. As this is the most important contact point, taking care of your lower back is very important.

In most situations, and especially where your job requires you to sit in your chair for an extended period of time, your backrest will need to have an adjustable height so that you can get the maximum amount of support for your back. There are some backrests that can even be moved forward or backwards.

If the seat pan is deep, these features can be even more useful. Whatever you do, never sit in a chair for a long period of time without back support. You should adjust the chair instead, as this will protect your back while you work.

With the top trim running to the back of the desk, I need to neatly terminate it before it intersects with the face frame on the back of the desk. To do this, I use the same method I use when doing chair rail (see posts from the Northville, MI trim project). I cut a 45 on the top trim, then cut a tiny piece of opposing trim to return it neatly back, making a totally finished end!