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| You've got mail: The Blackberry keeps
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Technology
and I have never been great bedfellows. I'd say I tolerate technology
and I'd like to assume that the feeling is mutual. Let's say tech
and I have to work together so there's not much point in fighting.
I don't launch into whoops of ecstasy over megahertz, gigabytes
or megapixels, and I've never spent more than a few split seconds
over the section on technical specifications in the manuals of the
gadgets that I use, but I certainly do appreciate the ease with
which personal computers, laptops and cellphones allow me to navigate
work. I don't always like them-on my cellphone, I've assigned a
ring tone to my boss's call that sounds remarkably like a police
siren-but then there's no doing away with them either.
So when Airtel handed me a BlackBerry 7730
to try out for a few weeks, I had mixed feelings. Of course, a couple
of my colleagues, including one whippersnapper who sagely comments
on gadgets in the magazine, looked amused and, considering me several
light years behind them in tech-savvy, probably sniggered in private.
But I had the BlackBerry, a light, flat, small
device that comfortably fits your palm or your shirt pocket (or,
if you want to look like a delivery boy, snaps on a clip at your
waist) and serves up all your e-mail on the go, anywhere, anytime.
Synced in with your desktop or laptop, the BlackBerry is like carrying
your office with you anywhere you want to be. And its 'push technology'
enables e-mails to be routed to your handheld (and from it) automatically
instead of other devices that require frequent logging on to the
internet to check your mail. Ever since it was introduced by Research
In Motion, a Canadian wireless solutions company, in 1999, the BlackBerry
has become ubiquitous in North America and has an estimated 1.6
million users worldwide.
My first cheap thrills with the BlackBerry
were not very different from my first cheap thrills with a Macintosh
computer. It was 1986. I was a lowly reporter at the Calcutta (now
Kolkata) edition of a financial newspaper, banging out my daily
reports on a scarred and temperamental Remington Rand typewriter.
Suddenly one day, like manna from heaven, the management installed
six spanking new Macintosh 128-kb machines in the newsroom. I got
to share one with a colleague, and what a time we had. We soon learnt
how to use the Mac, complete with a mouse and a set of pre-installed
games, including one in which you had to keep firing a cannon at
some little armed people who relentlessly kept attacking you. For
the first few days we spent longer hours at work, smitten hopelessly
by those nifty beige boxes and a laser writer, a device that in
those days of dot matrix printers, produced copies that, well, were
probably better than what our daily reports deserved!
The first few days with the BlackBerry made
me an e-mail fiend. I began to understand why it's called the CrackBerry.
You get addicted. Even if you set it in the quiet mode, you keep
checking for the little icon on the top left corner signalling mail
in your inbox. I found myself furiously looking for mail at all
hours of the day, weekends, in the car, in the bathroom, everywhere.
And once found, I'd answer them, equally furiously, using both thumbs
on the qwerty keyboard and head bent down in what's known as the
classic BlackBerry prayer pose. The tipping point came when out
at a meeting, I felt the tell-tale whirr in my jacket pocket of
my BlackBerry in discreet mode; I quickly excused myself, speeding
to the men's room and whipping out the magic device only to discover
that the mail I was dying to read was Valentine's Day spam.
You can, of course, keep your BlackBerry switched
off when you don't want work (or spam) to interfere with your life
and use it only when you're travelling or when it's absolutely necessary.
But then what's the use of a handheld device if you're going to
switch it off? How often do you keep your cellphone switched off?
-Sanjoy Narayan
TREADMILL
A STRETCH IN TIME
 A
part of physical exercise that many neglect has to do with good
posture. Do you slouch? Do your knees bend when you stand erect?
Are your back and neck straight when you walk? Good posture is an
essential part of physical fitness. It not only helps keep parts
of the body, particularly the spine, in fine fettle, but also enhances
your sports performance and other physical activity. But how do
you ensure good posture?
Try some of these stretching exercises:
1. Lie face down with your hands at shoulder
level and hips against the ground. Now push up with your arms to
lift only your upper body. At the end of the movement lift your
head up and try to look vertically up at the ceiling. It's a yoga
position that strengthens the upper part of your spine and back
muscles. Return slowly to the starting position. That's one rep.
Do 10.
2. Do the superman stretch for the lower back.
Lie on your stomach with arms and legs stretched straight out. Raise
your arms and lower back upward as far as you can go and hold them
in that position. Repeat for a set of 10 (see illustration).
3. If your job involves working at a desk,
take a stretch break every hour. Here are some quick stretching
exercises that you can do to stabilise your spine:
Neck: Incline your head to one side
as if you are trying to get your ear to touch your shoulder. Hold.
Return to the starting position and do the other side.
Lower back: From a sitting position
in a chair, stretch one leg forward, with knee straight. Feel the
stretch in your hamstrings (muscles behind the thigh) and then point
your toes towards your waist to feel the stretch in your calf muscles.
Upper back and shoulders: Stand straight
with arms extended at the sides; now, roll your shoulders in circles.
Do 10-15 reps to complete a set.
4. Take a lightweight metal or wooden curtain
rod. Stand straight with your feet spread apart. Hold the rod across
your upper back with your arms extended. Your torso and arms should
form a T. Now twist your upper body from one side to another without
moving your lower body. Do two to three 20-rep sets.
Tip of the fortnight: Break up your
session in the gym into intervals. Do
7-8 minutes of intense cardiovascular exercises (run or row or get
on to a cross-trainer), and then hit the weights. After four sets
of, say, bench presses, get back to doing 7-8 minutes of cardio
after which, hit the weights again. Your heart rate is boosted,
and this burns more fat and builds more muscle.
-Muscles
Mani
write to musclesmani@intoday.com
AFFLICTED
BY FEAR
No,
schizophrenia is not about a Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde switch in character;
it is about fear. A relatively unknown disease in India, schizophrenia
can take a heavy toll. Here's a FAQ-list:
Symptoms: The first signs often appear as confusing,
even shocking, changes in behaviour. Victims often hear imaginary
voices, or believe that other people are reading their minds, controlling
their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. Their speech and behaviour
can be disorganised, and they may be incomprehensible or frightening
to others.
Effects: Schizophrenia's symptoms, according
to Rajesh Sagar, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry,
AIIMS, may leave its victims "fearful and withdrawn".
Living in a world distorted by hallucinations and delusions, individuals
with schizophrenia may feel frightened, anxious and confused, leaving
them to face social isolation and stigma.
Who's susceptible: Says Sagar, "In India,
approximately 0.27 per cent of the population is affected by this
mental disorder." Even though there's no saying who it may
strike, it's more likely to affect urbanites. Heredity is also a
factor; risk is higher if there is a history of the disorder in
the family.
Cure: First stop for treatment is the family.
Says Sagar, "The family has a crucial role in taking the person
for regular check ups and administering proper medication,"
which is mainly in the form of anti-psychotic medicines. These reduce
the psychotic symptoms and allow the patient to lead a near-normal
life.
-Indrani Rajkhowa
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