Ergophobia? Nope, Just Tired Of Hearing Ergonomic

The word erg or ergonomics is used quite often in advertising (as in ergonomic mouse or ergonomic bed). The reasoning for this usage eludes me other than the fact that it reminds me of the adage, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."

Ergonomics is a term thrown around by health professionals and marketing mavens with a cavalier attitude. For some it has a very specific meaning. For others it covers everything under the sun. With all this different verbiage flying at you, you are probably starting to wonder, "What is Ergonomics?"

Ergonomics derives from two Greek words: ergon, meaning work, and nomoi, meaning natural laws, to create a word that means the science of work and a person’s relationship to that work.

The International Ergonomics Association has adopted this technical definition: ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance (this is the part where you become baffled by bullshit).

That is not the most efficient definition of what ergonomics is. Let us keep things simple. Ergonomics is the science of making things comfy. It also makes things efficient. And when you think about it, comfy is just another way of making things efficient. However for simplicity, ergonomics makes things comfortable and efficient.

From this, you can assume that if you buy a product that is ergonomic, then you are buying a product that actually works efficiently and comfortably. This should please you, especially since you have shelled out your hard earned cash for a product whose price is probably higher because it's referred to as "ergonomic".

If you buy a product that is not referred to as ergonomic, but still works efficiently and comfortably, then, in fact, it is ergonomic (and probably cheaper), as well. Don't you just love advertisers?

The News As I See It: Joe Biden and Paul Ryan faced off in the vice-presidential debate. The White House was a little worried. In fact, Biden's handlers told him, "Whatever you do, don't be yourself. Be anybody else." It was a little more aggressive than the first presidential debate. Biden opened with a head butt.

Fortunately, after a bit, Biden's Five Hour Energy Drink - Viagra cocktail finally kicked in. After that, all he did was smile and stick his two cents in.

After last week's debate, polls show Obama trailing Romney by one point. One point, or as it's also known, "the thing Obama failed to make during last week's debate."

A handwritten letter written by Albert Einstein suggesting that there is no God went on sale on eBay starting at $3 million. When the owner heard how much the letter was worth, he said, "Thank you, Lord."

Stephanie Cutter makes Debbie Wasserman Schultz seem almost credible, I sincerely believe that both women are the illegitimate children of Nancy Pelosi.

Kris Jenner, matriarch of the Kardashian family, is planning to host her own talk show. If the deal goes through, Fox reportedly would give Mrs. Jenner a six-week test run of shows, which is also the Kardashian trial period for marriages.

Police were called to the home of Lindsay Lohan's mother after an argument got physical. According to TMZ, Lindsay and her mom were at a club in New York until 4 a.m. Usually the only way you leave a club at 4 a.m. with your mom is because your mom drove to the club to drag you out of it. But in the Lohan family, the appletini doesn't fall far from the tree.
   

This Date In History: 1492; Columbus landed in present-day Bahamas. 1870; Gen. Robert E. Lee died in Lexington, Va., at age 63. 1960; Soviet premier Nikita Krushchev created a disturbance at the U.N. General Assembly by pounding his desk with his shoe.

1964; The Soviets launched Voskhod I, the first space capsule to carry three people into orbit. 1999; NBA Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain died at his Bel Air home at age 63. 2000; 17 U.S. sailors killed with the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Yemen. 2002; A bomb destroyed a nightclub in Bali, killing 202, mostly tourists.

Picture Of The Day: A cute little Peruvian girl with an alpaca.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be. 2) When asked about his views on euthanasia, Reverend Al Sharpton replied, "Da youth in Asia are just like kids everywhere else." 3) Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your kids. 4) Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids. 5) I got kicked out of wood working for not wearing my safety goggles while sawing off another kid's left arm.....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Libra - October 12th: Art is always something you've admired from a distance, but today you may choose to embrace your creative side. The night may feel like a safe time to parade naked through the local streets, however, you may find there are some that oppose the idea. 

Birthdays: Elmer Ambrose Sperry inventor 1860, Samuel Elmer Imes chemist, physicist 1883, Ann Petry novelist 1908, Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor 1935, Hugh Jackman actor 1968, Charlie Ward football and basketball player 1970.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: The woman quickly realized that the large wave had unceremoniously dispatched the top part of her bikini into the deep. More than a little embarrassed, she clasped her arms across her chest and made a dash for her car. She could sense everyone gawking at her along the way.

Upon entering the parking lot a little boy, who was following his mother to the beach asked, pointing to her arms and asked, "Are those puppies?", Not wanting to explain what had really happened, the woman replied, "Why yes, yes they are."

She quickly moved on but heard the boy shout after her, "If you're giving them away, I'll take the one with the pink nose!"

While attending a marriage seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his wife, Grace, listened to the instructor. He said, "It is necessary that husbands and wives know each other's likes and dislikes.

The instructor addressed the husband and asked, "Tom, Do you know your wife's favorite flower?" Tom leaned over, gently touched his wife's arm and asked, "It's Pilsbury, isn't it?"

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: A preacher was looking for a good used lawn mower one day. He found one at a yard sale that Little Johnny happened to be manning. The preacher asked, "This mower work, son?" Little Johnny said, "Sure does. Just pull on the cord hard, though."

The preacher took the mower home and when he got ready to mow he yanked and pulled and tugged on that cord. Nothing worked. It wouldn't start. Thinking he'd been swindled, he took the mower back to Little Johnny's house.

The preacher said, "You said this would work if I pulled on the cord hard enough."  Little Johnny said, "You need to curse at it sometimes." The preacher was aghast and said, "I've not done that in years!" Little Johnny replied, "Just keep yanking on that cord, Preacher. It'll come back to you."

A teacher asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Obama fans. Not really knowing what an Obama fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for little Johnny.

The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different. Little Johnny said, "Because I'm not an Obama fan." The teacher asked, "Why aren't you an Obama fan?" Johnny said, "Because I'm a Libertarian."

The teacher asked him why he's a Libertarian. Little Johnny answered, "Well, my Mom's a Libertarian and my Dad's a Libertarian, so I'm a Libertarian."

Annoyed by this answer, the teacher asked, "If your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot, what would that make you?" With a big smile, Little Johnny replied, "That would make me an Obama fan."

That's it for today, my little Cracker Jacks (and Jills). Remember, by the time you realized your parents were right, you have kids that don't believe you. I'm going over to AREA 51 for happy hour. That's it for now. Have a great weekend and more on Monday.

Stay Tuned !