bluepoppycat

I developed RSI about 8 years ago, working for my current employer - largely due to bad design of data storage and over clicking and movement of mouse.

I now have scar tissue inside my wrist, so it will always recur. I have retrained, and lucky for me that all mircosoft office products can be navigated by key strokes. Firefox is configurable, so you can create your own navigation. The result is that 80% of the time I don't need a navigation devise - 20% of the time I use a pointer. (I can't use a mouse at all).

Doing systems test for new system. There is no navigation other than by external device. (mouse, pointer, or similar). 4 hours of testing later, and I'm in serious pain. I left work 5 hours ago. I'm still in pain. I sent an email to the head of IS. I raised this issue at the beginning of the project to resolve our data issues, I raised it as a disability issue. I have also emailed HR with the question - can my employer legally impose a system on a person with a disability (which they got from working at that employer) - that is not friendly to that disability and thus making it impossible for that person to do their role effectively. I wait to see what they say. Or what IS say.

I suspect they will say nothing. In the test room when I complained, all the IS project implementation team suddenly had to stare at screens/out the window and act like they couldn't hear what I was saying.

Made this last night http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3229/yummy-scrummy-carrot-cake

Shared it at work. It disappeared very quickly. It turns out everyone loves carrot cake. It doesn't use that many carrots so I may have to make another one for the weekend.

Which isn't bad thing.

I enjoy baking as much as yoga for taking my mind off things that cause me stress.

My brother started a blog. To post helpful (or not so helpful) comments on his blog, I had to create an account.

I can see the value in writing, or typing (which is easier than writing). I write a lot for work, but it's not creative, it's very factual and evidence based.

But as one of my yoga teachers has taught me - the more you reflect on what you are learning in life, the more you understand that what you are learning helps you evolve.

I've been reflecting on employment. My partner, my brother and soon his brother will all be in-between jobs. I'm also hiring at the moment, and the CV's I'm receiving let me know two things. There area lot of capable, well educated people who are in-between jobs. There are also a lot of people who really don't know how to make their CV stand out or to write a decent cover letter. For most of the candidates about 2 hours of effort would have taken them to the top of the pile.

Something odd about the current recession in the UK. In the private sector unemployment is decreasing, but productivity is down. This means that there a lot of under employed people who are employed. In the public sector, unemployment is increasing and productivity is up. So what's up with that ?

It turns out that after two years of claiming job seekers allowance, people are 'encouraged' to declare themselves self employed. They still get welfare benefits, in the form of tax credits. But it takes them off the unemployment data. This makes it look like the number in work is increasing, and in theory should boost confidence. What it appears to have done is created a lot of under employed self employed.