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Your computer could KILL you! -- Press Clips

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http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2003/01/27/daily44.html

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Your computer could be killing you

Sitting at a computer for long periods of time could kill you, according to a new study reported in the February 2003 edition of the European Respiratory Journal.

It says there is a risk of developing life-threatening blood clots from sitting for long periods at a computer, similar to a problem that has injured or killed some airline passengers on long flights.

The report centers on a case from New Zealand in which a young man who spent up to 18 hours a day sitting at his computer nearly died after developing a massive blood clot that formed in his leg veins, broke off and traveled to his lungs, a condition called pulmonary embolism.

This new disorder has been termed "e-thrombosis" by the authors to describe what may become the 21st century variant of thrombosis associated with immobility from prolonged sitting. This condition was first described in people sitting in deck chairs in air raid shelters during the Blitz in London and subsequently identified with prolonged air travel.

Dr. Richard Beasley of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand and his colleagues warn that there may be a large unrecognised risk of developing blood clots in this situation when the widespread use of computers in so many aspects of modern life is considered.

"It may be similar to the situation with the risk of blood clots with long distance air travel — it was not until there was publicity with individual cases that the real extent of the problem was recognised," he says.

The authors recommend that, with the current state of knowledge, it would seem prudent to advise all people who commonly sit for prolonged periods at a computer to undertake frequent leg and foot exercises and to take regular breaks away from their computer.

© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.


quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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The Weekly World News, a nationally recognized newspaper of record, has reported cases of computer viruses infecting human beings. There are apparently two transmission vectors. Some viruses piggyback on photons emitted by the monitor, and enter the body through the eyes. (A photo accompanying the article depicts this happening to an actual user.) Using a filter and wearing dark glasses cuts down on the risk. The other main means of transmission is via dirty keyboards, so it's important to wash your hands before and after keyboard use.

Mark

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Here you go Quade.
This was in the UK.
Email overload.;)



Sometimes death truly is a "dull, dreary affair..."


Dateline: 01/31/01

By David Emery

I would be remiss if I let another week pass without commenting on the strange story of George Turklebaum.

According to reports published in the British press, Mr. Turklebaum, a proofreader in a New York publishing firm, sat stone-dead in his office chair for five days last October before his coworkers realized it.

This has aroused Yankee skepticism.

In England the item has appeared in the Birmingham Sunday Mercury (which takes credit for the scoop), the Daily Mail, the Guardian, the Times, on the BBC and no doubt in other venues, but American papers have by and large not seen fit to propagate it.

As the story goes, the 51-year-old Turklebaum suffered a fatal coronary one day while working at his desk. Apparently none of his 23 coworkers thought it remarkable to see him slumped motionless in his chair for five days running, because Turklebaum kept mostly to himself and was always the first to arrive and the last to leave the office every day.

It's the sort of scenario Somerset Maugham must have had in mind when he said, "Death is a very dull, dreary affair." But let's be scientific. Medical examiners say that within three days after a person dies, the corpse should exhibit obvious signs of decay: swelling, discoloration, fluid leakage and that distinctive odor of death. It's unlikely those symptoms could have gone unnoticed by Turklebaum's fellow employees on into the fifth day postmortem.

About Poll
Is the George Turklebaum story believable?
Yes, very
Maybe, kind of
Absolutely not


Current Results

Nevertheless, the Birmingham Sunday Mercury stands by its account. Proudly.

"We reported in December that New Yorker George Turklebaum had died at work — but none of his colleagues noticed for FIVE days," a follow-up article says. "We estimate that international interest in poor George's woeful tale means that more than 100,000 emails have now been sent from office worker to office worker."

"Of course the story is true," the Mercury continues, responding to questions about its veracity. Nevermind that the New York City white pages don't list a single Turklebaum in the area; the item came from a reliable source — a Big Apple radio station.

It's interesting to find the Sunday Mercury speaking as if it scooped the story, given that its first report was dated December 17 and the Guardian had already run a less-detailed version two days earlier.

Among the colorful details added in the Mercury's rendition was this tag: "Ironically, George was proofreading manuscripts of medical textbooks when he died."

Does anyone else hear the phrase "too good to be true" ringing in their ears?



www.myspace.com/durtymac

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Well, if he was a really serious computer geek, his personal hygiene might have been, um, questionable :S. Which could lead to someone not noticing the difference in exactly what kind of ripe he was :P

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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Naw...dz.commmers are immune to this disease! They keep getting up every 30 minutes to get another beer out of the 'fridge! Just enough exercise to keep the circulation flowing...;)

ltdiver


Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

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