From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Emanuel Berg Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: my experience with eye problems (was: Re: Invalid face reference: quote) Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2016 23:24:49 +0200 Organization: Aioe.org NNTP Server Message-ID: <86porbv9i6.fsf_-_@student.uu.se> References: <0df9de35-c113-4a32-b05b-e5d1ec5a73a7@googlegroups.com> <86vb14wjp2.fsf@student.uu.se> <04102757-554a-498e-92a6-047616f9f7a2@googlegroups.com> <8d009639-7d15-4c96-81ec-9f966448a04f@googlegroups.com> <86lh20w5mh.fsf@student.uu.se> <87d1nc3s6d.fsf@hornfels.zedat.fu-berlin.de> <861t3svsyw.fsf@student.uu.se> <878txz52ua.fsf@hornfels.zedat.fu-berlin.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1466458523 12928 80.91.229.3 (20 Jun 2016 21:35:23 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2016 21:35:23 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Mon Jun 20 23:35:22 2016 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1bF6qS-0007ao-KJ for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Mon, 20 Jun 2016 23:35:01 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:46688 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1bF6qR-0007EP-W8 for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Mon, 20 Jun 2016 17:35:00 -0400 Original-Path: usenet.stanford.edu!news.tele.dk!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed9.news.xs4all.nl!feeder.erje.net!1.eu.feeder.erje.net!news.unit0.net!news.mixmin.net!aioe.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 133 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: EoOtCC1fCYcttx6jjhWUlA.user.gioia.aioe.org Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@aioe.org User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.4 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:0A7CEexayYN51DcW4sVBrZQLgJk= X-Notice: Filtered by postfilter v. 0.8.2 Mail-Copies-To: never Original-Xref: usenet.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:218228 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.21 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: "help-gnu-emacs" Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:110537 Archived-At: "Loris Bennett" writes: > If you have any information to the benefits > of light-on-dark (which I have always felt > looks way cooler - your dark version of angry > fruit salad being no exception) and > brightness minimisation, I would be > interested to read it. OK, I'll tell this story one more time and then put it on my home page and never tell it again. I thought about doing that anyway for years so this seems like a good time finally doing it. You know how people say, "if it can help even a single person, it is worth it" - that always sounds pathetic, but... yeah, I suppose it is true! For the impatient, before I tell the story, to sum it up: 1. Bright on dark theme. 2. Big text size. 3. Bright (high contrast) text colors: "see, don't read". 4. Heavy use of font lock/syntax highlight: "see, don't read". 5. No visual noise (e.g., blinking cursor, popups) - reduce visual information to the essentials - civilized scrolling, one line at a time is another example. 6. No mouse as it implies resetting eyes and arms and "aiming" at GUI elements. 7. No reading huge parts of text. When writing, keep eyes very relaxed. (I don't really read what I write. The typing provides small vibrations which are pleasant. The eyes are just there for the ride. It is like a walk in the park.) For reading, printers and books are useful. 8. Use of a projector. (This also gives good posture.) 9. Master the software so it is all typing and being active and no "looking" and searching - thru endless menus only to set some option, browsing documentation not finding what you need - away with all that. Speed kills! And in a pleasant way... To reduce eye pain when it happens: 1. Everything that brings physical relaxation - sports, yoga - but not the sauna as it dehydrates you (as does alcohol, coffee, etc.) - "sports" doesn't have to be advanced, try twelve push-ups or the plank for one minute! 2. Tiger balm around the nostrils to produce a tear reaction - pulling nose hairs or riding a bike without blinking can do this, too. The story: God willing, my eye problems are a thing of the past. Back then, I thought I'd give up computing altogether. Then I started to configure everything from the software to the physical setup to myself, mentally and physically. The shell, Emacs, and Gnus made configuration possible, pleasant, and not extreamly difficult, so there was hope. As for the physical setup I found huge, available rooms at my university with projectors. So I stopped having a computer at home but instead went there every night, say 00.00-00.05. This isn't a lot of computer hours compared to the typical programmer or computer kid/bum. But do it with 100% discipline for 365 days a year half a decade, it it enough. So in the days I read all the books and thought about cool ideas which never happened because at school in the nights I had hundreds of other things to do! This reduced the problem by say 75%, but it was still so much pain only the iron will of youthful enthusiasm would have any normal person doing it for any stretch of time. But several years later (!) I discovered the reason for the eye pain was me being allergic to shampoo! Since I did a lot of sports every day I reproduced the problem not knowing it. Ironically, the showering actually helped the problem in the short run, because of the relaxation. Not being i hippie, I didn't even use a lot of shampoo! It was just insane. None of the countless physicians I saw ever thought about it until I myself found out by intuition - it wasn't even an experiment, rather one day I stopped using it not thinking about it and in time the problems went away to some 95% at least. Now, when I suddenly didn't have it, I was surprised and impressed I didn't jump off a cliff or something when it was at its worse! To do CS at such a state is just mind-boggling to me today. But from all the configuration and problem solving I learned a lot. So it was a blessing in disguise, tho it certainly didn't feel like that for many years. "HTH" :) -- underground experts united .... http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573 Emacs Gnus Blogomatic ......... http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573/blogomatic - so far: 52 Blogomatic articles -