A post over at SlipperyBrick caught my eye and made me cringe. Apparently there is a new novelty mouse on the computer peripheral market. This one is shaped like a big, red Lego brick. And I'm sure it is as uncomfortable as it sound.

Mommas in the House (a blog by a mother of all people) has a good review and personal evaluation of the ERGObaby carrier and backpack. If you are in the market, or just curious, it is worth the read.

Gel-Pro Anti-Fatigue Mats are great mats and come in stylish colors and textures. Well, they have just added another design option. Gel-Pro recently introduced a new floral pattern texture available in six colors.

ErgoExpo '09 starts today in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for news on the latest in ergonomics.

Science Daily has a good article, Pain In The Neck: Too Much Texting Could Lead To Overuse Injuries, discussing some preliminary research that suggests what we've all been thinking. That is, all this time spent on our mobile devices is probably going to hurt and we'll develop some type of repetitive stress injury. It's worth the read.

For those of you who operate under daylight savings time you must be feeling some relief right now. We've finally fallen back and I no longer have to wake up before the sun comes up. We are biologically programed to sleep at night and wake with the sun. Unfortunately the recent extension of daylight savings time has forced most of us to spend 1-2 months fighting our natural inclinations.

We have just finished year two of a country wide experiment caused by the candy companies. They have been lobbying congress for decades to move the fall back date until after Halloween. They want to have a larger Trick-or-Treat turn out and they think that daylight savings time is the key. I'd argue that the loss of productivity due to the extension is not worth the economic boost the country might get by buying a few extra bags of candy.

More:

• Problems Adjusting to Daylight Saving Time

I'm excited to let you know that a special discount has been set up for readers of About Ergonomics who wish to attend this years ErgoExpo.  Not only can you save 20% but you can hear me speak at this years conference.  Simply use the discount code ABOUT20 during registration.

I was just Boo'd.  And I must say that this is the greatest ergonomic breakthrough to hit Halloween that I've ever seen.  If you don't know what Booing is it is where you make up a bag of treats and a "Boo" sign and then leave it at a friends door anonymously.  So in essence it is trick or treating without having to leave your house.  That's awesome.  If you haven't been Boo'd and have to do it the old fashioned way then here are some tips to make your trick or treating easier.

We spend a lot of time in the field of ergonomics trying to fit the work to the worker.  Well, Art van Bodegraven and Kenneth B. Ackerman have a nice Op-Ed piece over a DC Velocity, The Case for "Revergonomics" , discussing improving things by doing the opposite.  That is finding a worker with the aptitudes and physical traits that will make them perform better at a given task.

I slide a fresh pair of Scotch Precision Scissors out of there packaging, felt the balance and smoothness in the action and set down to slice through some paper.  I marveled at not only how far technology has come, but also in how much thought is continually put into scissor design.  Then it hit me.  I think we've all forgotten just how important scissors are to mankind.  Sure it's no cotton gin or pacemaker, but scissors are even more important to the advancement of our species.  They are the second tool most of us learn to use (behind the crayon) and are ever present in are life.  Scissors are an essential ergonomic tool.