PC Overuse

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/2100-1040-982669.html?tag=fd_top' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/2100-1040-98266...html?tag=fd_top</a><br /><br /></div>OK, I don't like the term "e-thrombosis" either - it's a little too cliche and paranoid, seeing as how people have been working at desks with computers for 40+ years. However, this article highlights a good general point: make sure you don't get stuck at a screen for an insane number of hours. I know I'm in front of my computers all the time, but I frequently take my hands off the keyboard, shift around, get up and walk around the office/bedroom, and other physical activities to make sure I'm not developing anything like this. I think every muscle in my lower body would go to sleep if I was at a computer for long periods amounting to 18 hours a day. 8O<br /><br />If anything, I'd suspect handheld devices help in this - no more being tethered to your desk. Perhaps we should start a business in anti-DVT solutions. :)<br /><br />"Deep vein thrombosis has been associated with long-haul air travel, but people who work or play for excessive periods at their PCs are also at risk of developing blood clots that could lead to DVT, according to a new report.<br /><br />Research published in The European Respiratory Journal reports that a young man in New Zealand nearly died after developing DVT following extended periods of PC use.<br /><br />This first recorded case of 'e-thrombosis' occurred after the New Zealand man spent up to 18 hours a day using a computer. He developed a large blood clot that formed in his leg veins, then broke off and moved to his lungs."

[freitasm]

Ok, ok... I know I'm kind of overexposed to computers, but i'm not the guy with this - although we live in the same city :)

The original story is on http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2226653a10,00.html

[Bob Anderson]

This first recorded case of 'e-thrombosis' occurred after the New Zealand man spent up to 18 hours a day using a computer. He developed a large blood clot that formed in his leg veins, then broke off and moved to his lungs."

OK.. I use computers a lot, but sitting in front of one for 18 hours? Good grief, get a life... Everything in moderation folks...

[Jason Dunn]

Hmm...this isn't too far away from my working habits. I often forget to get up and move around when I "get going". :?

And here I thought RSIs were serious! :lol: Getting up and stretching is certainly a good thing. I keep meaning to do a post on RSIs as well - I've found "the solution", and it didn't involve surgery...

[DrtyBlvd]

So the essence of the message people is don't sit on your ass for too long or it'll kill ya.

Rocket Science.

[Fzara]

18 hours? what the heck can anyone do for 18 hours on their PC?

Most I do is 4-5 hours each day. And I thought I was one of the worst! Ha!

Unless this guy is a programmer/developer, there is no justification for 18 hours on a computer. Imagine the amount of eletricity for 18 hours!

Thats like 6 hours of sleep!


Go on computer whole day
Sleep
---------next day--------
Go on computer whole day
Sleep

What a waste. Dude, get a life.

[DrtyBlvd]

Alternative - Have children :lol: (Or at least practice)

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

8O Wow... 18 hours is not hard for me to imagine in some cases... though I wonder if these sufferers are the typical no-exercise-and-eat-Doritos-for-lunch type of folks. I do exercise on a regular basis and watch my own personal diet, still this is a rather dreary reality.

[Janak Parekh]

Wow... 18 hours is not hard for me to imagine in some cases...
Yes it is. As Fzara says, it means that if you were to sleep 6 hours, you wouldn't go to the bathroom, eat, stretch, walk, shower, change, etc. I can see a alternative where you sleep 3 hours one night and do the rest in the intervening 3 hours, but I'd be pretty dead exhausted if I did this on any sustained basis.

I'd be real curious to know what this guy's schedule was.

--janak

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Wow... 18 hours is not hard for me to imagine in some cases...
Yes it is. As Fzara says, it means that if you were to sleep 6 hours, you wouldn't go to the bathroom, eat, stretch, walk, shower, change, etc. I can see a alternative where you sleep 3 hours one night and do the rest in the intervening 3 hours, but I'd be pretty dead exhausted if I did this on any sustained basis.
No, it's not... when I first entered consulting, I was on system development projects where I was literally in the office at 7AM and usually didn't leave until anywnere between 12midnight to 3AM in the morning. Of course I took restroom breaks and at least ate, but all the other necessities (shower, change of clothes, etc.) came during my off hours (yes that translates to as little as 3-4 hours of sleep).

I sustained this work output for roughly 6 weeks consecutive, sometimes working 6 or 7 days per week. I paid the price as I became ill the moment I rolled off that project...

I could never sustain those hours doing management work now, but in the days when I was a pure developer, 12-14 hours of work came and went quickly... an additional 4 hours to me is not inconceivable.

Granted, I vowed afterwards never to work those kinds of hours again, but the fact that I had to make a vow says to me that others can easily fall in to the same trap.

[Janak Parekh]

I could never sustain those hours doing management work now, but in the days when I was a pure developer, 12-14 hours of work came and went quickly... an additional 4 hours to me is not inconceivable.
Hmm... I personally do think the additional 4 hours are what's killer. I've done 12-hour stints when necessary for a couple days. I could not do 18 hour stints. At least in my case, my body and brain just shut down. :) In fact, I'd much rather get more sleep than work the crazy hours -- programming, unless you're just cranking out relatively straightforward code, needs a clear head.

--janak

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Hmm... I personally do think the additional 4 hours are what's killer. I've done 12-hour stints when necessary for a couple days. I could not do 18 hour stints. At least in my case, my body and brain just shut down. :) In fact, I'd much rather get more sleep than work the crazy hours
Hey, I'm with you. I'd never work those kinds of hours again, but at that time, I was very young and fresh out of college eager to prove myself. I could never pull stints that long doing design or analysis work, but once the design work was done, the coding came easy.

-- programming, unless you're just cranking out relatively straightforward code, needs a clear head.

I don't know what you'd consider straightforward, but if you ever worked with data warehouses and ETL (extract transform load) tools, I was basically coding all the transform and load routines from several legacy systems into the DW (we didn't have commercial ETL tools available at that time). Not too bad, but it did come with its share of frustrations.

In any case, there's no way I could ever do that again.

Nowadays, 8 hours of management and constant meetings can wear me out much faster than 16 hours of coding / troubleshooting once did.