A new DVD, Demystifying Visual Dyslexia, has been produced by the Design and Ergonomics Research Group and Ian Jordan (a dyslexia expert) at Coventry University, England. "For educational ergonomists it is important to understand the learning requirements of all children, and to design interventions and environments that can enable them to fulfil their potential. While the DVD is aimed primarily at parents it is also essential viewing for all teachers, psychologists, optical professionals and those who deal with children."

The Bangcok Post has a good review of the Mini Clubman, the new enlarged Mini Cooper. I had a chance to check out the Mini Clubman myself this passed week and it is an interesting car.

The modern Mini Cooper as an ergonomic marvel to me. It is an incredibly small car that handles like nothing you've ever driven and fits a very large anthropometric figure like myself very comfortably. The Mini Clubman widens and elongates the car slightly to increase interior space, give you more legroom and enlarge the storage area.

It does this very well. The addition of the third door also gives you much easier egress. But what you gain in room you loose in styling. The attention to detail in the interior is lacking and the body styling is not as charming as they were. But the ergonomics, as always, are handled very well with a little more wiggle room. Plus there are more cup holders.

Dr. Harry K. Wong, D.C. will be hosting a free workshop on Motorcycle Ergonomics & Riding Positions on May 2, 2008 in Redwood City, CA. "This workshop is designed to help you make the necessary adjustments to your riding positons and to your bike to optimize your personal efficiency and comfort of riding your motorcycle in all conditions."

Here's a nifty space saving and ergonomic device, the Shoe Wheel by Rakku. A rotary, adjustable, customizable, mobile shoe storage solution, the Shoe Whee looks easy enough for anyone to use. And the best part about it is that it holds dozens of pairs of shoes in a rather small footprint. If you cringe every time you walk into your closet and see your wife's pile of shoes (not that I would ever do that) maybe it's time to invest in some type of organizational aid.

After seeing this thing in action I'm starting to become rather fond of it. That and the fact that it won 2006 GOOD DESIGN Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture & Design has put it on my "Got To Check Out" list. You should check out the videos of the Shoe Wheel in action.

Help My Hurt is promoting an ergonomic week and holding a contest for stories on Repetitive Stress Injuries. If you've got a story about your pain or a tip on how to overcome it you could win an ergonomic mouse pad. You could also learn something by reading the submissions as well. The Help My Hurt RSI Contest runs through April 27, 2008.

OSHA's Springfield Area Office, American Safety and Supply Inc. of Springfield, and Industrial Hearing Testing of Auburn, all of Massachusetts, have created an alliance to reduce workplace noise hazards. Mary Hoye, OSHA's area director in Springfield says, "Continual exposure to high noise levels can lead to hearing loss. The key to preventing hearing loss is in knowing how to identify, address, and minimize workplace noise hazards, be that workplace a factory, construction site, or other venue."

The alliance will develop training and education programs, educational materials, and resources for noise-related safety and health issues, and preventing hearing loss in both construction and general industry workplaces for the central and western Massachusetts area.

Gunter Ollmann recently spoke at an internal IBM information technology security conference on the subject of “how too good security can become no security”. His argument boils down to the fact that as computer security gets more complicated the end user uses it less effectively. Ollmann also takes issue with the common perspective from security professionals that “there’s no patch for stupidity – i.e. the victim should be blamed because they couldn’t figure it all out and did something they shouldn’t have." His solution is security ergonomics, or designing security that is effectively and efficiently used by the end consumer.

The Eastern Ergonomics Conference will be held in New York City on June 24th. The Eastern Ergonomics Conference is one of the best human factors and ergonomics conferences held in the United States. This one day conference will focus on core ergonomics education. Topics include:

• the basics of building an ergonomics program
• safe material handling guidelines
• best practices for a safer and more productive aging workforce
• managing workers' comp costs
• risk assessment
• construction safety

Which way is a door supposed to open? The way that it doesn't knock your block off, of course. So here's another bad design for you. What is wrong with these doors?

I came across this nifty packaging at the store this week. These pears come with a color changing sensor (the dot that looks like a sticker on the top left of the label) that changes color according to the ripeness of the pear. It should be a foolproof way to get the pear just the way you like it; crisp and firm or soft and juicy,