Hanging on for dear life

When I saw the Cupmen in a Japanese website, I just had to ask my sister in Tokyo to buy some for me. If there ever was a most useful useless gadget, this has got to be it. A plastic man whose job is to keep the paper-foil cover of instant ramen noodles down. He turns white when the noodles are heating up and goes back to his original color when it cools down. Isn't he just too cute?


The Cupman in my office gets a workout every now and then during emergencies, but the one at home is probably bored out of his skull. Maybe I should just hang him on my computer monitor.

Charming charms

I have a disease called cute-itis. It makes you use cute things even if you're just a little too old for them already. Take bag and gadgets charms for example. My friends' charms have colored stones and beads and look elegant. Mine? Uh, cartoon animals?

My cellphone charm is half a heart and Minnie Mouse, and is one part of a pair. Guess who has the other half.

My alma mater's mascot is a blue eagle and I couldn't resist this charm when I saw it in the university bookstore. It's an eaglet on what's supposed to be a bracelet, but I hang him on my (current) everyday bag. Not very professional looking, I admit, but I think he's adorable! And he's only a centimeter high. Just between you and me though, I think he looks more like a blue penguin than a blue eagle.

This little mint green teddy bear is actually pretty big for a bag charm. But he's my birthday bear. The sole of one foot is stitched with the date of my birthday (sorry—I forgot to position the foot properly). My sister and three nieces each have one too. How can I not use it? I removed the key holder and attached him to the zipper of my work bag, along with mini train cards from Tokyo—mementos of a visit to my sister and her family when they were living there. One of them supposedly has the name of the station nearest my sister's home, but since I can't read Japanese characters, I just have to trust her on it.

Now, I have two questions for you:

1. Do you have cute-itis?
2. Do you use bag and gadget charms?

Erasing dirt like magic

Remember that article about keyboards being dirtier than toilets? I didn't just post it here—I also emailed it to a lot of friends and colleagues and may have caused a keyboard cleaning binge at work (and in Multiply).

Anyway, my husband—who originally sent me the link to that article—didn't stop at just disinfecting his keyboard. He decided that he wanted the keyboard to be as white as the day he bought it. Thanks to Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, he did.

I read a few forum topics about keeping computers and gadgets clean, and this product keeps getting recommended. After seeing my husband's keyboard, now I'm recommending it too. Since the sponges are kind of large, I suggest you cut it up first. Aside from saving a little money, you'll also have more surface area to clean with.

Skins of art

What do I do when I really, really want to buy something that I do not need? Buy it as a present!

That's what happened when my girlfriend at GlamExchange discovered GelaSkins and wrote about them. Right after reading her article, I spent the next hour or so just browsing the site and looking at all the beautiful artwork—because that's what GelaSkins' pride is: artist-designed skins for your laptop, iPod and gaming devices.

I don't have a laptop, iPod or gaming device—no excuse to buy myself a Gelaskin. But my husband does have a MacBook, so there's my excuse!

The two skins I chose (yes, I consulted my husband and he'll say he chose them too, but I had already decided on them before we went through the website together, hee hee) are by the same artist: Colin Thompson from Bellingen, Australia. I immediately fell in love with his colorful, whimsical art, and what he had to say in the website made him even more endearing to me: I have always believed in the magic of childhood and think that if you get your life right that magic should never end. I feel that if a children's book cannot be enjoyed properly by adults there is something wrong with either the book or the adult reading it. This of course, is just a smart way of saying I don't want to grow up.

Here are the two art skins. Click on the image to see a slightly bigger one, or just visit the GelaSkins website. Guess which one my husband's currently using.

Bookshelf

Music Castle

I love this widget

The National Geographic Photo of the Day widget is one of my favorite widgets. I love National Geographic's photos! Click on INFO, and it tells you what the image is and who the photographer is. From the info panel, you can get to the Photo of the Day archive and even download a wallpaper of the image. Click on ENLARGE, and it brings you to the National Geographic website where a large image is displayed and the explanation is a bit longer.

This widget is available for web pages and the Mac Dashboard.

Eeew!

After finding this article, my husband said, "I wonder what our cellphone keypads are like." Double Eeeeew!


Keyboards 'dirtier than a toilet'
Some computer keyboards harbour more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat, research has suggested.

Consumer group Which? said tests at its London offices found equipment carrying bugs that could cause food poisoning.

Out of 33 keyboards swabbed, four were regarded as a potential health hazard and one harboured five times more germs than one of the office's toilet seats.

Microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson said a keyboard was often "a reflection of what is in your nose and in your gut".

During the Which? tests in January this year, a microbiologist deemed one of the office's keyboards to be so dirty he ordered it to be removed, quarantined and cleaned.

It had 150 times the recommended limit for bacteria - five times as filthy as a lavatory seat tested at the same time, the research found.

The equipment was swabbed for bugs, such as those that can cause food poisoning like E.coli and staphylococcus aureus.

Dr Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at University College London Hospital, told BBC Radio 5 Live sharing a keyboard could be passing on illnesses among office workers.

"If you look at what grows on computer keyboards, and hospitals are worse, believe it or not, it's more or less a reflection of what's in your nose and in your gut," he said.

"Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis, you're very likely to pick it up from a keyboard."

Which? said one of the causes of dirty keyboards was users eating lunch at their desk, with crumbs encouraging the growth of bacteria.

Poor personal hygiene, such as not washing hands after going to the toilet, could also be to blame, it said.


Cleaning techniques

Which? computing editor Sarah Kidner advised users to give their computer "a spring clean".

"It's quite simple to do and could prevent your computer from becoming a health hazard," she said.

She said dust and food crumbs should be shaken out of keyboards and they should be wiped with a soft, lightly dampened, lint-free cloth. They should also be disinfected with alcohol wipes.

Research by the University of Arizona last year found the average office desktop harboured 400 times more bacteria than the average office toilet seat.

They also found that, compared to men, on average women have three to four times the amount of germs in, on and around their work area.

Wiihabilitation

Kids and teenagers love the games. Adults like the exercise factor (my friends swear by boxing). Now, physical therapists join the Wii's already enormous fan base. Tempting.

Click the title to read the complete article.

Doctors use Wii games for rehab therapy
By Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer
Sat Feb 9, 6:24 AM ET

CHICAGO (AP) – Some call it "Wiihabilitation." Nintendo's Wii video game system, whose popularity already extends beyond the teen gaming set, is fast becoming a craze in rehab therapy for patients recovering from strokes, broken bones, surgery and even combat injuries.

The usual stretching and lifting exercises that help the sick or injured regain strength can be painful, repetitive and downright boring.

In fact, many patients say PT—physical therapy's nickname—really stands for "pain and torture," said James Osborn, who oversees rehabilitation services at Herrin Hospital in southern Illinois.

Using the game console's unique, motion-sensitive controller, Wii games require body movements similar to traditional therapy exercises. But patients become so engrossed mentally they're almost oblivious to the rigor, Osborn said.

"In the Wii system, because it's kind of a game format, it does create this kind of inner competitiveness. Even though you may be boxing or playing tennis against some figure on the screen, it's amazing how many of our patients want to beat their opponent," said Osborn of Southern Illinois Healthcare, which includes the hospital in Herrin. The hospital, about 100 miles southeast of St. Louis, bought a Wii system for rehab patients late last year.

"When people can refocus their attention from the tediousness of the physical task, oftentimes they do much better," Osborn said.

Nintendo Co. doesn't market Wii's potential use in physical therapy, but company representative Anka Dolecki said, "We are happy to see that people are finding added benefit in rehabilitation."

The most popular Wii games in rehab involve sports—baseball, bowling, boxing, golf and tennis. Using the same arm swings required by those sports, players wave a wireless controller that directs the actions of animated athletes on the screen.

The Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital west of Chicago recently bought a Wii system for its spinal cord injury unit.

Pfc. Matthew Turpen, 22, paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident last year while stationed in Germany, plays Wii golf and bowling from his wheelchair at Hines. The Des Moines, Iowa, native says the games help beat the monotony of rehab and seem to be doing his body good, too.

"A lot of guys don't have full finger function so it definitely helps being able to work on using your fingers more and figuring out different ways to use your hands" and arms, Turpen said.

At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the therapy is well-suited to patients injured during combat in Iraq, who tend to be in the 19 to 25 age range—a group that's "very into" playing video games, said Lt. Col. Stephanie Daugherty, Walter Reed's chief of occupational therapy.

"They think it's for entertainment, but we know it's for therapy," she said.

It's useful in occupational therapy, which helps patients relearn daily living skills including brushing teeth, combing hair and fastening clothes, Daugherty said.

WakeMed Health has been using Wii games at its Raleigh, N.C., hospital for patients as young as 9 "all the way up to people in their 80s," said therapist Elizabeth Penny.

"They're getting improved endurance, strength, coordination. I think it's very entertaining for them," Penny said.

So that's what it's for!

I noticed that little shiny square beside the camera lens of my cellphone immediately when I got it almost a year ago, but I only found out what it was for last month. It's a mirror so you can position yourself correctly when taking a picture of yourself (alone or with a friend).

Just another Duh! moment.