Full Body Vibration (FBV) or Whole Body Vibration (WBV) Platforms for stiff/sore muscles

I love gadgets.  When I saw a video of a Full Body Vibration (FBV) / Whole Body Vibration (WBV) Platform I immediately wanted to know how this gadget helped users with muscle soreness.  I could not locate any scientific studies regarding muscle fatigue relief and FBV/WBV.  However, I did surprisingly find several studies that hinted at other potential benefits to using such a device (i.e. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170315143836.htm).

I recently purchased an FBV to try it out for my post-workout and post-stretching muscle pain and stiffness.  The way the device was described it made me think it could partially mimic the vibrations of a therapeutic soak in a hot tub.

I purchased this device on eBay for a very reasonable price: 30″ Full Body Fitness 3D Vibration Plate Platform Exercise Machine w/ Straps by Murtisol.

From the research I did on these devices, I think users are supposed to actually workout on them instead of just stand on them. I am not working out on this device. I do my normal workout each day and then I stand in a relaxed position on the device for 10 minutes on this setting: manual, speed 3. I am very pleased with the results so far. I have only been using the platform for about a month but I have noticed a significant decrease in leg soreness and stiffness (most notably first thing in the morning). I will continue to use this device each day after my workout and stretch as a massage tool.

If you decide to purchase the exact model I mention above, note the following:

• it is surprisingly quiet
• it is heavy, getting the package into the house may be challenging for some (it has wheels and a handle for tipping and wheeling it around for ideal placement once the device is unpacked)
• it takes up space (it is 30 inches long) so do not think it is something you can pack away easily – you will want it out and accessible every day
• I have been using this particular brand for about a month so I cannot say at this time how well this device functions long-term but so far it is working as expected
• this particular model simultaneously rocks in different directions so be aware of this in case you have balance issues
• consult your physician first before using this device if you have pre-existing conditions
• this device has an added benefit of making you sound like Darth Vader if you chat on the phone with friends while standing on it

Tech message of DOOM

Most devices and apps are built with good intentions, I think this because I am a computer programmer with a more often than not sunny disposition. I am also a realist. I have been around long enough to know what it means to not know your neighbors.

I have a tech message of doom for the world today: it is fun to bury ourselves in technology. Tech is a lovely escape from accountability, confrontation and reality – it also does amazing things for efficiency, heath, transport – the list goes on and on. However, hiding behind technology will only make us rock stars of our own empty electronic world and nothing more. Human interaction can be complex and often times dangerous but until we invest in the lives of others then all tomorrows are a blue screen of death – tomorrows that no one person can save us from, we all need to do our part for this world.

Invest in the world if you can, you will be glad you did – our world needs you:)

Update your smart TV. Fear not, it will never be as smart as you;)

Is your computer connected to a smart TV? If so, the following information will give you a good idea of how to update your smart TV.

What is a smart TV? A smart TV can access WiFi and run applications just like a smartphone (unlike a regular TV or computer monitor).

A smart TV, just like a computer or a smartphone, requires periodic maintenance in the form of “updates” from the manufacturer for security and performance enhancements. This is an example of how to update smart TVs:

• Using the remote control that came with the smart TV, select a settings button. Most settings buttons look like a small gear to activate the settings menu.
• Navigate through these settings menus to find the network options (all smart TVs are different so navigating through the menus to become familiar with them is the best approach if you do not have documentation handy). In the network options there will be features allowing you to connect to a network (it doesn’t matter if your computer that is connected to the smart TV is connected to a network or not, the smart TV is a separate entity and will not use the network connection of your computer – the smart TV needs its own network connection to receive updates). The screen will tell you if you are connected to a network or not. If you are not, then attempt to connect to WiFi, if this does not work then plug a network cable into the back of the smart TV and plug the other end of the network cable into a network port in the wall of your home if you have one or a network port on your wireless router.
• Using the remote that came with the smart TV, select the settings button again if you do not already see options on the screen for updating the smart TV. Most settings buttons look like a small gear. Click on the setting to download updates to the smart TV. Wait for the download to complete (a message will appear on the screen telling you the updates are complete, depending on the frequency of the updates in the past, the updates can take a few minutes or up to an hour to complete).
• Once the updates are download, turn the smart TV off, wait a few seconds and turn the smart TV back on for the updates to take effect.
• Disconnect the smart TV from the wireless network (by using the smart TV remote > settings) or the hard-wired network (removing the network cable from the back of the smart TV and from the network port in the wall of your home or from the network port on the back of your wireless router).
• Many smart TVs will also read updates from a thumb drive that is connected to the back of the smart TV, this is an often problematic approach for updating some smart TVs due to the number of steps involved (users have to visit the manufacturer web site, download the updates to the thumb drive while the thumb drive is connected to the computer then remove the thumb drive from the computer and place the thumb drive into the back of the smart TV and the smart TV may or may not be able to read the files on the thumb drive or may or may not be able to even recognize the thumb drive).

I need a legion of self-driving remote-controlled electric scooters – by Halloween please.

Strange dream a few nights back. I love it when I remember the strange ones! I only remember this little bit I’m afraid but it is enough to go on:

I controlled a legion of self-driving remote-controlled electric scooters. Each scooter had a big stuffed bunny tethered to the scooter. I was directing the scooters down residential streets at a very slow rate of speed at dusk. General hysteria from the ‘burbs was unfolding as a result.

The only “remote control” scooters I have found are ones you can disable and more unhelpful things via a smartphone – this isn’t what I am looking for. So if you have a huge stack of cash and some time on your hands, make this happen please. We all want to scare the daylights out of kids and give them boatloads of candy on Halloween, get moving!

One more thing, I am so poor I can’t even pay attention so there would be absolutely no benefit to you for doing all of this hard work other than being hailed as the King of SDRCES by me…and maybe my cat.

No way will they make it in customer service.

I was shocked at how strange my seemingly simple interaction with customer tech support was with a company over the weekend.

I encountered an issue with a company’s very specialized search engine over the weekend, my instructions to them on how to recreate the issue were so simple and yet the person I was dealing with from their tech support department was incapable of comprehending the 3 easy steps I sent them (the 3 steps were sent in print so there would be no misunderstanding – if for some reason tech support cannot read or cannot read English then there is nothing at all wrong with that – if that is the case then the company needs to switch to phone support instead of their current email ticketing system for support issues).

What should have been no more than 3 messages (1 message from myself highlighting the issue and 1 or 2 messages from tech support acknowledging the issue and then fixing the issue or saying the issue isn’t fixable at this time) has instead escalated to 9 messages so far.

This much chatter is completely unacceptable and unnecessary.

These are the 3 simple steps I sent the company so they could replicate the issue I was seeing:

1. visited this url: http:\\www.[their search site domain here].com
2. in the search box I entered this phrase: bla bla
3. selected enter, the search results appeared on screen

How can anyone not understand the exact 3 steps noted above? I cannot image any 3 steps being easier than what I posted above. How does someone not understand this? This is an example of the chatter going back and forth between myself and tech support:

• tech support: “Works fine for me”
• me: send me a screenshot
• tech support: sends me a screenshot
• me: nope, you did not go through the same 3 steps I did (see my steps), you instead searched on this criteria: bla. bla – I do not include a period in my 3 steps
• tech support: “Went through your steps again, works for me”
• me: send me a screenshot
• tech support: sends me a screenshot
• me: nope, you did not go through the same 3 steps I did (see my 3 steps), you instead searched on this criteria: you selected the category bla first then within that category searched on the phrase bla bla – I do not select a category in my 3 steps

The conversation just keeps going on and on and on like this until the human finally performs the 3 steps and sees the issue (I have truly witnessed a miracle). The human is unable to follow 3 simple instructions until the human is baby fed each step at a ridiculously slow pace. These instructions could not be simpler but this human is incapable of understanding how to perform these 3 steps without a tremendous amount of hand holding.

This person needs to leave customer support immediately and never go back and instead build a roller skating rink in my honor to make up for the damage this unnecessary stress has caused my brain.

Our tech world makes it easy to store and babysit useless data, avoid this practice at all costs.

Examples of useless data

• Storing documents containing data you have not accessed or updated within the last 3 years.
• Storing phone numbers in your smartphone that belong to humans that have not contacted you within the last 3 years (you may have contacted them within 3 years but they have not initiated any contact with you within 3 years).

Why get rid of useless data?

• It takes up space that could instead be used to store photos of puppies.
• It is an obstacle when looking for valuable data (i.e. useless phone numbers are in the way when scrolling or searching to find other valuable phone numbers). Time wasted wading through useless data could instead be used to enjoy nature or go shopping for copious amounts of jewelry.
• Useless data is as dangerous as a cluttered desk or home, it can shower many of us in a thin mist of anxiety that is difficult to identify in the early stages of discomfort.

Cleaning up your digital life every few years is one easy way to help you focus on the most important aspects of your life.  Start deleting now and do not look back:)

Taking photos of humans (and posting to the world) without permission – seriously creepy

Schnikes!  If the scientific community has not already done this, I hope they dedicate research into the odd behavior I see again and again online regarding the capturing of photos of humans and the subsequent posting of the photos to public social media platforms without the consent/knowledge of the humans in the photos.

The cycle is always the same:

1. A person with a camera is in a public place
2. The person takes a photo of a stranger in the public place
3. The person publishes the photo to social media with the plea to “help me find this person….blah blah blah”
4. The person pleads their case in a disguise of kindness and goodwill in the hopes they will not be deemed a freakish stalker by the masses for taking a photo of a human in public and then sharing the human’s photo with the world without his or her permission or knowledge.
5. The masses go hog wild for the heart-warming tale

The cycle changes drastically when these scenarios are encountered:

SCENARIO 1:  If the person(s) in the photograph has no obvious physical abnormalities (scars, too thin, too heavy, too short, too tall, crooked teeth, stained teeth, unflattering expression, unflattering hair style, etc.), public reactions appear to be primarily in supportive of the photographer posting the photo of the stranger.  Supporters are quick to point out specific laws are on the side of the photographer when snapping certain kinds of photos in public, or they gush about the artistic qualities of the photograph or how the photo is bringing great joy and those questioning the behavior of snapping photos of humans are quickly dismissed as being paranoid or foolish.  A happy ending of making a “connection” with the world and the human is often a heartwarming end result.

SCENARIO 2:  If the person(s) in the photograph show signs of physical abnormalities (scars, too thin, too heavy, too short, too tall, crooked teeth, stained teeth, unflattering expression, unflattering hair style, etc.), public reactions appear to be primarily hostile toward the human in the photo with no real reactions one way or the other to the photographer.  The ending in this scenario leads to public humiliation for the subject of the photo.

Other scenarios occur as well but the two noted above seem to garner the most extreme reactions from the masses.  Different groups of people will engage in scenarios best suited to their default behaviors but I wonder if the reactionaries consider the consequences of the publicity of the subjects.  This is not a photo tucked into a photo album on grandma’s coffee table, it is a photo distributed world wide – huge difference.

I think it is seriously creepy to photograph a human (without his or her permission) and then post the photo online for the world to see.  I don’t know how famous people deal with this behavior.  It is so strange.  Science can only observe and study and then tell us why we behave the way we do.  Maybe it doesn’t matter what we do or who we do it to because in the end we are nothing more than rotting matter in the dirt that once stained our faces.

[scary music of doom here] 😉

I want blue light blocking screen protectors placed on top of all of my devices. You cannot be serious.

If you have one monitor and nothing else then I guess purchasing a screen protector could be a reasonable purchase (but only if you use the screen protector until your death at a really old age, at which time the screen protector is then passed onto another really young person who is going to live a really long life).

Who only has one device with a screen in today’s insane techy world? I am betting your life’s techy screen inventory looks something like this between your work and play existence:

• 4 gargantuan monitors
• 1 Microsoft Surface
• 1 Apple iPad
• 1 Kindle
• 1 iPhone
• 1 Android
• 1 laptop
• 3 digital frames
• 5 TVs (even one in the bathroom – someone please explain this to me)
• 3 gps units installed in all of your cars and electric scooters

When someone has this many device screens, it is a tad obnoxious to expect screen protectors be physically installed on top of each device screen. Why? Because blue light blocking solutions can be worn on the user as opposed to the device (in the form of glasses or hanging a huge screen on one’s face) or actually installing software on the device (some newer devices offer this option) instead of purchasing a bunch of screen protectors that physically reside on top of all of the devices.

If you have only one user and 21 devices (this seems like way too much stuff by the way), why would you subject the environment to 20 pieces of unnecessary waste (a physical screen protector for each device screen) when that waste can be cut down to just 1 piece (a wearable solution for the 1 user or, better yet: researching the screen settings of each device for possible software or settings solutions)?

A wearable or software solution for dealing with blue light not only creates less waste for the world but it may also save you or your company time and money.

Pay for a DNA kit? Then pay to access DNA data? What?! Seriously?

The commercials over the holidays touting the sale of DNA kits almost sent me into orbit.  Why in the world would I pay for a DNA kit and then pay to become a member of a genealogy web site?  DNA data is extremely valuable and these companies want me to pay them to take my DNA data and pay to access DNA data?  I have seriously never heard of any business plan so ridiculous but for some reason many people are happy to pay others to take his or her valuable DNA information and then pay others to access DNA information.

DNA data has the potential to make a tremendous amount of money far into the future.  So many people are interested in DNA data and are willing to pay a lot of money for it.  Unfortunately though it looks as if DNA submission participants may not see any of that money with the current state of things.

When arguments such as the greater good and science are voiced when attempts are made to justify a strange business plan such as this, then I recommend carefully scrutinize the profits at each stage of the process.  Who is getting cash in their pocket at each stage? What will they use the cash for?  Answers to these questions will help you determine if paying people to take something so important from you is really worth it.

Here are just a few very simple examples of what DNA data is or could be used for now or way into the future (and there are many more – some we cannot even comprehend yet):

• Car insurance companies:  determine who is “healthy” enough to operate vehicles or who may be predisposed to certain conditions that one day may or may not impede ones ability to operate a vehicle (anything from depression to brain tumors)
• Health insurance companies:  base coverage and rates on odds of survival/disease based on genetic makeup
• Grocery stores:  deny some purchases (like sugar or alcohol) to those customers with genetic predispositions to certain conditions
• Designer babies:  ability to pick whatever features one would like for a baby
• School athletics:  determine who is or is not allowed to be on the high school basketball team based on genetic predispositions (i.e. heart conditions, blood pressure)

Can you tell I am just a tad paranoid?  This paranoia of the current state of some of the DNA collection processes stems from my zest for life.  This zest is fueled by many things, including the belief that anything is possible.  Once humans are reduced to genetic categorizations, then the only things that are highlighted as possibilities for ones self are the items listed on a cold print out of capabilities determined by your genetic makeup.   I can think of nothing more detrimental to the human spirit.

 

Day 20,324…aargh!

If you are:  an introvert, extremely busy or not a fan of yammering on the phone, then you have probably been down this familiar road:

1. You visit a web site that offers a service you are interested in but the web site has very little information regarding the service posted on the web site.
2. You visit the “contact us” section of the web site and see a phone number or feedback form listed.  Instead of calling the company you fill out the feedback form (you provide your email address as well as several other bits of “required” data) to request more information.
3. Starting the next day, you ignore two phone calls per day from this company for the rest of your life.

I find a few things strange about this outcome:

1. The company is aware of how the visitor reached out to them (by feedback form instead of phone call).  The company seems to ignore this critical piece of information.  Instead of emailing the requested information to the visitor, they choose to contact the visitor repeatedly through other methods.
2. The company is aware that the visitor has not answered the first 9,000 call attempts they have made.  The company seems to ignore this critical piece of information.  Instead of halting the calls and pursuing another method of communication (like email), the company chooses to call the visitor’s number for a long period of time.  When I say long, I mean well after the visitor has died and his or her phone number has been transferred to other humans.  These poor humans of the future find themselves in a constant state of confusion over the daily calls they are receiving from a company they have never heard of .

Is the human voice so miraculous that its sound must be present in order to unlock the wisdom of this company?

Is this company so fearful that their information will fall into the hands of robots that its employees feel they must verify the “humanness” of each inquiry by scrutinizing voices over the phone?

Is a mischievous person intercepting all incoming communication between visitors and the company and then robocalling all visitors in a crude attempt at being a nuisance with the intent of inflicting financial loss for the company and mental anguish for the visitor?

These questions are too complex for my little mind to answer.  I can only hope for a phone-free afterlife.