How to do a presentation if you cant travel

Problem - An email from AGI Northern Ireland asking to see my presentation, but how to get round my travel limitations?

Solution - Apple iChat with theatre!

Having always wanted to see this in action, I immediately decided to try a video presentation, but was unsure how the files would look, or how the sound would work. On checking on the apple website, I found reference to file sharing by theatre. Basically all you do is start a video chat, the go to file, and select the sharing with theatre option and Apple does the rest. It took a while to connect, but once I had rebooted, I simply called up the gents in NI on my buddy list, and waited for the wows once the file opened. The theatre option takes your web cam image to the bottom of the screen, and then shows the powerpoint slides at a native resolution, which was essential for me as the presentation is about mapping and charts! I now never have to travel needlessly again just to give a talk, and seeing as this is a charity and volunteer led organisation, so much the better for keeping costs down.

Palm treo rant

OK, so work just gave me a new Palm Treo for my email on the move. I had an old Treo, which had been
bearable, if somewhat ageing, so was happy to get a like for like. But it isn't.

What ever possessed Palm to shrink the stylus to be shorter than my thumb whilst at the same time making the buttons and screen harder to use? I have very small hands, so never expected this to be an issue. This is surely madness to play with a design so much that it gets worse not better? Yes its thinner, but the thickness wasn't an issue really. To try and compare this to my personal iphone is like trying to compare a goat to a horse when all you want is something to ride to the market. And the goat analogy can continue as the phone is stubborn (wont recognise button presses), awkward (took me an age to get the stylus out before realising its length) but looks good.

When will gadget designers realise that as gadgets become more common, people who aren't young, able bodied, healthy American males or Japanese school girls, use them too? And the 99% of the population who fit into this demographic have long memories when they start to dislike a manufacturer. I had a Palm in the glory days - before windows. It was so far ahead of the game; slick, fast, and easy to use. Each successive version has been worse than the previous one, and I now pray to whatever deity you choose that I will never have another one again. In fact I am talking to my managers about its lack of accessibility to try and get rid of this one.

Sleeping comfortably with Fibromyalgia and Neuropathy pt 2

Having settled on a pillow, the next thing is to try and find a covering that's comfortable. Not an easy job! So heres a few tips I have managed to cobble together by trial and effort.
1 - Keep your shoulders warm. If you are the sort of person that tends to wriggle out of the duvet, then a nightgown or top with a close fitting neck and either short or long sleeves is best, not vest tops. There are a lot of fleecy cotton or T-shirt ones around. If its very cold, then its worth considering a shrug as well.
2 - Ventilate! Fresh air is so much better to sleep with. Of course this is hard if you live in the town, so consider instead some spider plants or orchids/cacti. In NASA tests, a spider plant kept misted to keep the leaves clear works better than any ioniser going, and costs nothing to run. Also orchids and cacti and some other plants give out oxygen at night unlike most other plants so greatly aid your breathing.
3 - Constant temperature. Keeping the window open this winter was good for breathing, but not for my neck. I found a conservatory heater ideal. Its cheap to run, and stops the temperature dropping below zero in the room. The oil filled ones are also silent which is good, I just wish I had been able to find one without a glowing light on the side, but duck tape soon sorts that out.
4 - Quiet. I use earplugs. for disposable ones, I found the ones from superdrug the softest, with Boots a close second (I tried more types than I can remember!). This gets expensive after a while, so I got myself some fitted ones from audio relief which have lasted two years and are so comfy they don't kick off my neuropathy either.
5- Dark. Its natural to sleep in the dark. I have some masks for when I am away from the dark of the countryside or if its a really bright moon. I have also masked every LED or banned them from the bedroom - No TV!!. My Pure Evoke radio is great as its almost totally dark (just one little light in the corner to cover).
6 - Natural fibres. I have found many options, and definitely find something natural best. down duvets were my favourite until recently, but this kicks off sinus issues, which most of us sufferers get apparently, so I decided to ask for a silk duvet for Christmas, and am so happy I did. I got a his n hers duvet with 10 tog on my side and 4 on my husbands. Silk is anti-allergy so this is great, and they are far more popular now so are available from many stores. The lightness of the duvet is also good - you wont believe you could possibly be warm with so little depth of covering, but you can! I also just got some lovely cotton bedding and a cotton padded throw from La Redoute
7 - A "dawn" alarm clock. In the dark of winter, this really helps you wake refreshed. I have a Naf Naf one from Amazon, but again there are loads now - a cheaper option would be to buy a daylight bulb and a timer switch.

I slept with this lot last night, and even though my husband was snoring, the dog sneaked in, and its was a really cold night, I slept really well, and hope my readers do too!