Catching up

I got a lot of catching up to do, as my hard drive crashed yet again! I was again caught without a backup. Well, I'm not giving up on Apple since it was the hard disk (Seagate) that failed. I requested for a brand that isn't Seagate but let's see. Right now, I'm resolved to buy a new drive (probably 120 GB so I can run Parallels or BootCamp) and use the 60 GB drive as a (gasp!) backup.

MOVIE UPDATE:

Among the movies I've listed, I failed to watch Ocean's 13 and Pirates 3 (DARN!)... FF2 sucked a lot (passable though I wanted some of my money back) while Transformers ROCKED!! I managed to also see the Harry Potter movie recently and it was a good extension of the fourth movie (which I managed to also see recently). While reviews for the shortest Potter movie were mixed, I think the book-to-film transition was one of the smoothest in the series.

While on the subject of HP, I managed to read a (what-turned-out-to-be-a-hoax) copy of Harry Potter that I downloaded on the eve of the supposed launch date of the 7th book. I read until about 100+ pages when I was informed that it might be a hoax copy/fanfic literature. WELL... after reading about 100+ pages of the (according to Chicks) real thing, the hoax compares very well. The hoax explores the possibility of Dudley being a wizard (because he was attacked by Dementors in book 5) and the libido-raged version of Harry and Ginny Weasley. It was right on at least two things (spoiler warning)...

It was right about the wedding of Bill and Fleur being attacked and on the real story behind the fake Horcrux with R.A.B. initials.

(end of spoiler)

Oh, and Hedwig dies...


ERGO

I read again that I promised to post about my Ergo lessons. Anyway, my classes now seem less animated than before but I can manage to get a few reactions especially with some funny anecdotes and their (sometimes pilit already) connection to the lesson. My first lecture explored the beginnings of ergonomics from its allied fields of psychology, scientific management, anthropology and sociology, among others. The next lectures would focus on the foundations of ergonomics.

We looked into the theory, concepts and principles of human error. Essentially, human error is the reason why we have ergonomics in the first place. The phrase "fool-proof" is essentially linked to ergonomics. One of the main foundations of ergonomics is information theory. Here, we talked about how humans receive and send information and learn how limited our perception is compared to the inflow of information that we receive and how even more limited is our processing capability. We also talked about population stereotypes and stimulus-response compatibilities. Think about a knob and a dial (for a radio). How do you move from 89.9 to 96.3?

The latest lesson was about anthropometry. What proved to be interesting was the discussion on brassieres and hipster jeans. Also, a possible correlation between hand/foot size and other body parts. Go figure.

A new addition to my IE 160 classes is the ErgoNewsNow (ENN) which features student reports on news items that have ergonomic significance.

OTHERS

Settlers of Catan has finally arrived! Thanks to Celsus for spending a small fortune so that the geeky gang can enjoy a board game that can possibly ruin friendships and temporarily sets aside marital vows.

The geek gang has also set aside DoTA for a while and focused on Catan and mafia. While I'm not at liberty to discuss the goings-on of the current game, I encourage groups to try this game out. It's free anyway!