The Refresh Orlando Heirs

Box Building

Each type of sub requires it’s own type of box. If a sub is installed in a box larger or smaller than what is supposed to, it will sound distorted/bad and could be destroyed. Boxes can be built in many shapes, but it is important that the box volume is calculated accurately to achieve maximum performance.

Materials

A box MUST be very sturdy. Most common building materials are 5/8″ or thicker particle board or medium density fiberboard. If building a box with Plexiglas, do not use anything less that 1/2 inch thick. A common material used to mold complex shaped boxes is fiberglass, but it is very hard to work with, and require several layers for a smooth finish.

Gluing, Sealing

Glue should be used at all joints to fill any spaces. Any spaces will degrade the performance of your subs, not to mention the annoying noise air makes when being pushed out of a small hole. On applying the glue, let it cure for at least 24 hours before mounting the subs. This is a precautionary mesure to protect the rubbers used to make the subs from the high fumes that some manufacturers glue products have.

Holding Joints Together

In connecting box joints, it is best to screw the joints every four inches or so using 2″ - 2-1/2″ screws. Pre-drill about 3/4″ deep, so that screws do not split the wood at the edges, especially when working with particle/bashboard.

Should I have a Box for Each Sub?

It is advised to have a separate chamber for each sub. Even though not necessary, here are two reasons why such a directive should be taken: First, if one of the subs blows, then the volume of the box will be “twice” as big for the one remaining working sub. This could cause problems and even damage the other sub. The second reason is bracing. Building a box with a divider in the middle will make the box more rigid.

Ports

Ports must be built into your box design to channel out the air made by the sub’s vibrations. If a pre-made port is not available, the most common material is PVC . PVC is very rigid, comes in different diameters. Cut the tubing at the desired length. Consider the volume the port takes up when calculating the box volume. Cut a hole in the box. Make sure the hole is as perfect as possible to minimize gaps between the box and the tube. A couple wood braces can be added for screwing the port top the box. Seal the gaps using a proper sealant (Evo Stick or even silicone can be used).

Bracing

Boxes that are more than a foot in width or length or height, should be braced so that the box becomes more sturdy. This can be accomplished with a piece of wood maybe 3 or 4 inches wide across the box). It is a good idea to put wood blocks on the corners for reinforcement. Always consider that blocks, braces, neon lights, etc. inside a box take up space and should be accounted for when calculating internal volume.

Damping/Filling

Damping increases subwoofer efficiency by dissipating some energy that affects the sub, particularly the voice coil. It is advisable to put damping material inside a box. Pillow polyfill and fiberglass insulation are common, though polyfill is a lot easier on your skin. Polyfill also “tricks” a sub into thinking it is in a bigger box. Play around with different amounts of polyfill until you get the desired results.

Making it look professional

Make the box surface free from holes and spaces by adding wood fill. If you decide to paint the box, then you should apply primer first. Carpet or Vinyl padding is the best covering to use since they easily cover any outer blemishes on teh box and give the box a ’smooth’ outlook. Be carefull when cutting the vinyl or carpet since such cutters tend to be very sharp. Cut a piece of carpet (or vinyl) big enough to cover the whole box. Apply adhesive to both box and carpet (EvoStick works great). Wait about a minute and place the fabric over the wood. For the best fit, stretch the fabric when applying it. The fabric should wrap around and end in a place of the box that will not be seen. Do one side at a time, cutting excess carpet. If possible, add staples preferabke heavy duty staples that can penetrate the box, to hold the fabric at the ends. NOTE: Do not cover each panel of the box before mounting it together since it would be impossible to find any ‘leaks’ that may exist in the box design much less fill these leaks.

Get more Auto/Car Audio and Video help.

Read More at:
http://forums.trinituner.com/forums/archive/

Time is one of the most important things we have that we are always short on. One way to maximize your time is to have the most up to date technology available. But, this can be costly. If you are in the market to purchase CD duplication or replication products, you won’t have to spend a lot of money to get quality products to help you with this. Depending on what type of CD duplication you are interested in, you will more then likely find just what you need online and do so quickly.

But, what is it that you need your CD duplication to accomplish? For many, simple CD duplication equipment is needed to download music, movies, or files from the Internet. Other things you may need CD duplication for include producing your own music or coping that of another’s. What will you use your CD duplication equipment for? What are your needs on a broad scale and then on a specific level as well? By defining what your needs in CD duplication are, you will effectively be able to get the right product for you.

Once you know what you need in your CD duplication equipment, you can begin your search. First, you will find that most of all the products you can imagine in CD duplication are available for you to purchase online. While in most cases, we are talking about components to add to your own personal computer, there are many other products for more sophisticated needs as well. First, let us speak of the more sophisticated of CD duplications. If you are looking to have CD’s duplicated on a large scale, you may wish to consider looking for a company to manufacture them for you. Unless you plan to do this often, having someone else handle your CD replication can be a great time saver and money saver as well.

Now, if you are looking for CD duplication for your computer, you face a completely different situation. First of all, most new models of computers actually come with CD burning features that can allow you to download off the internet a wide variety of things including music, movies, software and more. You can also copy CD’s from one drive to the next. So, for personal use, CD duplication software may already be on your computer.

Regardless of what type of CD duplication you are planning to do, you can find all the necessary equipment and materials available to you online. What you need to do, though, is determine if you need to purchase CD duplication equipment or possibly enable a company to service your CD duplication needs. Or, you may simply want or need to own your own CD duplication equipment. In that case, you’ll be surprised at all that is available to help you. You may even be able to purchase an add-on to your current computer that will allow you to do your own CD duplication. Whatever you need, there is something out there to provide it to you!

Gonzalo Roca
http://www.cd-duplication-directory.com

Online Courses Bring Advantages and Security Threats

A college education is mandatory in today’s job market. Because of this, many workers find themselves pursuing a higher education while they are employed. One way colleges are making access to education more convenient for workers is by offering a wide range of their curriculum via online courses. This growing trend brings with it all the advantages and disadvantages associated with Internet connectivity.

One of the main advantages to students is easy access to their coursework at all hours of the day and night. In fact, online classes can usually accommodate any work schedule. The ease of communication with the instructor is another reason online courses are so popular. Still another important advantage is that online courses can be accessed easily from any public commuter with an Internet connection, like those you might find at universities or in public libraries.

Colleges and universities support this trend toward online classes because they can attract more students and increase revenue without incurring the overhead associated with a classroom full of students.

However, as with any trend, there is a downside to this rapid increase in online education. Chief among the challenges institutions face is the need to defend against Internet-based threats. These threats are inherent in Web access and include instant messaging and peer-to-peer file sharing, spyware and phishing attacks, a wide-range of objectionable Web content and human nature itself.

MySpace.com

Examples of human corruption as a source of Internet-based threats are everywhere. The Internet is rife with everything from the criminality of hacking and phishing attacks to the irritation of surreptitious spyware agents. The most dangerous threat is from predators who often target young people, the very ones who are likely using computers at schools and libraries. In a recent scandal involving MySpace.com, a predator was tracking the movements of teenaged girls via their myspace.com postings. Predators on the Internet have been present since the beginning of Internet technology. They fish in chat rooms, message boards and e-mail. Even if the unsuspecting public is aware of the dangers posed by predators, the need for Internet security is essential in any strategy for defending against Web-based threats. This becomes even more critical when an educational site is vulnerable to attack.

Colleges provide their own websites, message boards, blogs and email addresses. When a phisher or hacker or a predator with hacking skills is able to breach the unsecured network of a college, it leaves more than just intellectual property open for perusal. And if external threats to the students and the network were not enough, a system administrator at a college also has to deal with the actions of the students as well.

The Hazards of Downloading

Computer access in the college library is very common even on the smallest of community college campuses. Students unaware of security threats can easily surf a number of questionable websites, downloading objectionable material and leaving a network vulnerable by visiting a chat room or opening an instant message with a skillful hacker on the other end.

Through any of these means an unprotected network can be at risk for backdoor programs, viruses and hackers. Defending against these threats is important for network security, student safety and the college’s reputation. An unsecured network is easy prey for an experienced hacker and the last thing a college can afford is to have a student’s personal information or worse, financial information compromised.

Reputation and Integrity

Colleges rely on their reputations and integrity to distinguish their institutions in a crowded field. Their reputation is comprised of many elements including student success rates and faculty expertise. The integrity of a college’s network security can directly impact student enrollment because any decline in a school’s good reputation can spread like wildfire. Schools with diminished reputations can see enrollment fall off as parents and students alike find other schools with better reputations.

This situation doesn’t just affect colleges, it also applies to local schools and school districts where networks, computers in classroom and wireless connections are becoming more common. Even more compelling, protecting young children is more critical for schools than even their reputations.

Utilizing proper filtering hardware and software can protect the integrity of the educational institution as well as their security and by extension, the security of the students. Filtering hardware can prevent students from accessing unsafe websites or questionable ones. It can prevent downloading of materials, backdoor programs and worms.

The Obvious Solution

With the use of filtering hardware, schools can protect ports into their network exploited by instant messaging programs and more. When it comes right down to it, educational institutions are negligent if they do not employ the right network security. With so many potential problems waiting to prey on the unsuspecting and unsecured network, filtering hardware is the obvious answer.

iPrism internet filters and web filters provide internet monitoring and network security. http://internet-filters.stbernard.com

In the past I’ve never really paid much attention to security issues when it comes to user names and passwords. Frankly I figured it was all a lot of overblown hype. This led to an unfortunate incident that involved my website being attacked, apparently by a skillful youth with a propensity for mischief.

The main security flaw with my website was probably the simple fact that the username and password were exactly the same. Granted I did realize that this wasn’t highly intelligent but I didn’t have the power to change it myself, and I didn’t think it really mattered enough to bother about it. Having an identical username and password is a massive “no-no” in computer security. Your username and password should not even be related along the same line of thought. A username of “Dragon” and a password of “Fire” is not a secure combination.

For maximum security, passwords should not be cohesive words or phrases and should not be too obviously related to something like your birthday or the birthday of someone close to you. Personal information is one of the first things used when people attempt to break passwords. Having a password of “Password” is indeed humorous and ironic but it is not in the least bit secure.

A “brute force” password hacking technique involves using certain rules and guidelines to take a guess at possible passwords and generally works through a dictionary of sorts, trying combinations of possible words and common characters. Your best bet at creating a secure password is to pick a random collection of letters, numbers, and symbols, including varying case changes (in a password the letter “a” is not the same as the letter “A”, so alternating at random between upper and lower case will increase the difficulty encountered in cracking your password). Selecting a sequence of characters on the keyboard (such as “asdf” or, worse, “1234”) definitely does not create a secure, random password.

Having symbols in your password is an easy way to greatly increase security. These are the special characters accessed by holding the “Shift” key and pressing one of the numbers at the top of the keyboard. If you want to truly expand your arsenal of special characters, try holding down the “alt” key and pressing a combination of numbers on the num pad (the rectangular collection of numbers on the right hand side of most keyboards) then release “alt”. For example, holding “alt” and pressing numbers, 1 then 6 then 8 and releasing “alt” will give the character “¿”. Most combinations of 3 numbers will enter a different symbol into your password. This may make it a little harder to enter your password but it makes it a lot harder for anyone else to crack it.

To make passwords easier to remember you can use something original, like the name of your favorite character in a book (personal information that other people won’t know). Then add some numbers to it, perhaps use the “Leet speak” (check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet for exact definition) method of changing letters to numbers and generally mix things up so that to you it seems coherent and memorable but to an automated pattern recognizer it seems random. For example, “jAm35_5m1Th¿” (“James Smith”) is actually surprisingly secure. In this case the password’s meaning is obvious to a human reader but it will take a lot of work for them to divine the password without prior knowledge.

For additional security you should not use the one user name and password for every account that you have. If you do and someone manages to get hold of your details for one site they pretty much have the run of your digital life. It is not particularly vital to have perfect passwords for less important accounts (e.g. web based email from Hotmail, forums you visit etc.). These sites can quite happily be accessed using the same password. However, bank accounts, work email etc. should be made as secure as possible.

Hopefully a few of these tips will assist you in making your online activities more secure. Keep these guidelines in mind, change your password on a semi regular basis, and with any luck you’ll be able to avoid the hacking menace that befell me.

M6.Net Web Helpers

Let us first understand What is data? Data is nothing but, information. All information in a computer is referred to as data. Data is a plural form of Latin word “Datum”. In computer, what we type, is referred to as data. There are two types of data, first one is character or numerical data, and second one is referred to as binary. The first one is readable to human beings easily. The second one helps computers to function. They are readable by the computer programs.

What is data protection: Generally, the word protection means the security given to something. For example, a house protects us from getting wet, when raining etc. In computer, the word protection is referred for protecting data from others, so, that others cannot get the information. In computer, information is stored in hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROM disks, etc. i.e. any secondary storage device, permanently. We need to protect it from getting accessed or modified or deleted. There are two categories of data; they are, private and public. Private data, features your name, password, address, telephone number etc. Public data is made available to public, information on some specific fields, which includes science, technology, mathematics, etc. Not all information on these fields are not public data. They may have private data also. It depends on how data is organized to protect it from being accessed.

Normally, we store information or data in the form of files, in the secondary storage devices. The computer checks, whether the data is in protected mode. If it is true, then computer will not provide data to the user. Each of file information is stored, in File Allocation Table (FAT), in case of Microsoft family of operating systems. File Allocation Table, is table of rows and columns, with each row corresponds to one file. The columns are, of, name of the file, address offsets from and to where data is to be read, different file attributes. One way, and perhaps, the only way to give protection to the file in FAT, FAT16, FAT32 is by hiding it and making it read only. But, that was not enough, as a user, knowing the existence of file, can reach it directly, without any difficulty. Microsoft later released NTFS (New Technology File System), which greatly increased the security options.

With the advent of client-server technology, the computer system had revolutionary changes. NTFS introduced a concept called File and Folder level security, where in, one can set options, with user name, and passwords. The user with sufficient permissions can access the file. However, there are several o*ther issues. The user name and passwords are to be made secured. So, they introduced a concept, called encryption and decryption. The basic idea of encryption is to convert data from one form to another. For example, suppose the letter ‘A’, may become ‘Z’ after encryption. Decryption is the just opposite of encryption. i.e. ‘Z’ should become, ‘A’, after reversing that is, decryption.

Encryption and Decryption involves several complex mathematical formulas. One needs to be good in mathematics, to write programs, for encryption and decryption. Till today, no one knows the actual process except, the author of the program. But, several intelligent guesses can result in breaking of encryption code. So, several encryption and decryption algorithms came, which made guessing difficult. The research for best encryption and decryption process is already on its way.

The second security measure, apart from the encryption is, the firewall. A firewall is a program, which monitors the traffic. The traffic is nothing but, a group of files. It may be a network file or an ordinary file. A firewall prevents the certain files or data from entering into system. It checks data or properties of the file and allows or blocks the file, depending on the condition set. Say for example, suppose, if one can prevent the file abc.txt from entering into the system. Like wise, we can block or allow the messages or files, which are willing to enter into our computer.

The growth of technology has resulted in bringing high level security, in the computer system. However, a more advanced data security system need to be built, which will prevent, unauthorized access into the system, in the years to come.

For more Data Protection tips and solutions, visit http://www.data-protection-solutions.com

How Stressed-Out Are YOU?

Are you feeling stressed out? Too many things to do, too little
time? One more thing added to the To-Do list and you feel like
you’ll explode?

Whoa there, no exploding allowed! You can handle it—just listen
in.

Listen? To what?

To your self-talk. Not yourself talk, but your SELF-TALK. Listen
in to the demands you’re making of your time, but more
importantly listen in to how you’re saying them and what you’re
saying.

Many of us don’t pay particular attention to what we’re saying
to ourselves. We’ve never been taught the importance of how
damaging it can be to us nor have we been shown that we can use
it to feel much better. You can literally un-stress yourself by
using your own self-talk.

Listen in for –need-, -have-to-, -must-, type statements that
you make to yourself.

“First I need to drop the kids off, then I have-to go to the
grocery store, then I need to stop at the bank, then I have-to
get home and work on those taxes before having to go back out
and pick up the kids.”

You’ve just created a lot of demands on yourself. And yes, in
order for your life to continue like you want, you would prefer
to do all those things just like that. But you don’t NEED to,
HAVE-TO or MUST.

By using demanding statements on yourself, you open up a lot of
opportunities to say irrational things to yourself that create
stress.

When you use demanding statements, you then create a scenario of
“what-if” in your head. And when the “what-if’s” back-up, then
watch out stress level!

“What if I don’t get it done, what if I don’t get there in time
to get the kids, what if this, what if that.” This is when you
really go into stress mode!

Asking such open-ended questions is the origin much of your
stress. You often answer with “that would be awful, that would
be terrible” which compounds the stressful feelings even more.

Since awful and terrible are labels way beyond bad, (actually
labels that are beyond definition) you’ve created a situation in
your head that ends up with you saying to yourself “…and I
couldn’t stand it if that happened,” or “…I couldn’t stand
feeling that way!”

It’s indeed a vicious cycle of thinking that is common to all of
us. Fortunately, once you know how, you can think your way out
of these situations as quickly as you got in.

So where do you start?

First, flag such have-to, must, need-to statements in your head.
Then replace the needs, musts and have-tos with preferences,
desires, and wants.

Then when something doesn’t go according to your desires, reduce
the awfuls and terribles to simply, bad. Then rest-assure
yourself that you can stand it.

What if you don’t make it to the bank? What if you’re late
picking up the kids?? Well, it’s not what you wanted, it may
indeed even have consequences which may be bad, but in the
overall scheme of things it isn’t awful and you CAN stand it.

A great deal of stress is caused from within by this
“I-can’t-stand-it-it is.”

Remember: whenever you hear yourself saying “need-to, have-to,
got-to, etc” replace it with want-to or would like to.
Substitute needs with desires; musts with preferences.

And remind yourself that awful things will not happen if your
desires are not met. You may not like the results if things
don’t go your way, but you can indeed stand the feelings. It may
not be good if things don’t fall into place like you want, but
the world will continue to spin and you will be able to handle
it.

It takes some practice. Don’t expect it to happen for you like
magic. Pay attention to your self-talk, listen for the what-if
statements, flag the must and need statements. Dispute them with
wants and desires. Do it vigorously. With time it will become
second nature, and you’ll notice the lack of stress in your
life.

What is a screensaver?

A screensaver is a program, just like many other programs on your computer. It is specialized by the fact that Windows will utilize it in a specific way. When your computer has been idle for a certain amount of time, Windows can sense it and will turn the screensaver on. The program will then display some kind of graphical design or text that constantly moves around the screen. You will usually see it in action when you walk away from the computer for a time and leave the screen on. Don’t be alarmed by it, just move your mouse a little to disengage the program and get back to whatever you were doing when you left!

Screensavers show themselves in many ways! It can be simply a blank screen (screen will be black), a design will seem to “draw itself” on your screen and then disappear when full and start drawing again, show a continuing slideshow of pictures, display animations of cartoon type figures, even display text that moves up and down and all over the screen! They are many, many types of screensavers available for your computer, but most people will never use more than the ones that came as part of your main software of Windows!

What Are Screensavers Used For?

Screensavers were originally designed to protect computer monitors from phosphor burn-in. Because I’ve worked with computers since 1974 I know first hand about the problem and why screensavers quickly became so important to computer users. Early CRT monitors (those are the big, bulky monitors available today, not the sleek flat panel ones!), particularly monochrome ones (yes we had only one color early on, usually green or amber), had problems with the same image being displayed for a long time.

The phosphors in the monitor that created the text and early ‘graphics’ on those screens would ‘glow’ the information onto the screen. Users of computers in the 70’s and 80’s usually worked on programs that displayed the same kind of information over and over again, like a spreadsheet for bookkeeping or an input screen for databases. What would happen to these screens is a constant bombardment of these phosphors in a set pattern that would actually discolor the inside glass surface of the CRT. This discoloration was then visible as a ‘ghost’ image that would be ‘burned’ onto the surface and any other display that was brought up would be ‘overridden’ on the monitor by that image. This harmful process made it difficult to use that monitor with any other program and eventually the monitor would have to be replaced. This was an expensive proposition for most companies who owned computers back then as monitors were priced in the $1500 to $2000 range!

Does My Monitor Really Need A Screensaver?

Actually, no, you don’t need a screensaver on your computer. Does that surprise you? In reality, screensavers haven’t been a necessity for many years now! Advances in display technology and the advent of energy-saver monitors have virtually eliminated the need for screensavers. Then, why do we still use them?

Well here’s a couple of reasons why we still use screen savers, courtesy of How Stuff Works. http://www.howstuffworks.com/index.htm :

· Entertainment - The most common reason we use screensavers is for the fun of it. Watching that macaroni dance across the screen to the tune of “Hey Macarena” can be a great diversion for a few minutes.

· Security - By setting up a screensaver with password protection, you can walk away from your computer and feel comfortable that nobody is going to be able to see any sensitive information.

· Uniform look - Many companies require all employees to use a particular screensaver. This creates a uniform and perhaps aesthetic environment and ensures that no inappropriate screensavers are displayed.

· Advertisement - Companies, particularly retail businesses, that have computers in areas accessible to customers will often have a screensaver that promotes their business or product.

· Information - A lot of screensavers provide either static or real-time information. A screensaver may cycle through a series of trivia questions. Another may pull stock information from a Web site and stream it across the screen.

· Distributed computing - Another form of screensaver takes advantage of your computer’s inactivity to process data from another source. A good example of this type of screensaver is SETI@Home, which is currently utilized by thousands of computer users. This screensaver displays a graph of the radio spectrum and processes radio-signal information received from the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) servers. It sends back results based on the data processed. By using the combined processing power of all of these computers, SETI is significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to sift through all the signals received from its radio telescopes. Go to SETI@Home to sign up! http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

Written by Debbi Baird, Co Owner, PC For Seniors

Author of many technical articles in ‘plain English’ for the “Older Generation”
and Trainer / Tutor / Consultant in the Palm Beach, Florida area.
Go to http://www.pcforseniors.com to find more information on computers and
The Internet in the “How Do I …” section of the web site! Also, check out our
Hot Sites! Listing for links to great places to go online for Seniors!

Caregiver Stress: Some Solutions and Coping
An excerpt from Into the Mist, When Someone You Love Has Alzheimer’s Disease by Deborah Uetz and Dr. Anne Lindsay

There are certainly a multitude of variables that can cause stress for Alzheimer’s caregivers. It is physically, financially, emotionally, socially, and cognitively demanding. To cope with all of these stressors, you must recognize and address them. Letting them accumulate and fester will be damaging to you and your caregiving abilities. Below are methods of stress relief. Adapt them for your particular style, use as many as necessary to achieve stress-relief, and find methods of your own that work for you to relieve stress.

Try to avoid negative responses to stress. Some of the negative responses that are common among Western societies include alcohol and other substance abuse, overeating and eating food that is comforting but not particularly nutritious, and shopping or impulse buying to the extent that it can affect your financial well-being. Most of these provide only temporary stress relief and, if overused, can add to your stress by adding unnecessary physical and financial stress.

You have likely learned during the course of your lifetime what stress relievers work best for you. To be effective, individualize your stress relief to meet your needs and personality. Some effective stress-relieving techniques include:

Knowing your limitations. This has been discussed in some detail previously. Know when you have reached your limits regarding stress – failure to do so will hurt you and could lead to abusive behaviors when you are dealing with your affected loved one.

Plan ahead. You know that stressors will arise and often can anticipate what the stress will be. When it comes to caregiving, this means planning ahead for how to deal with financial issues, the physical demands of caregiving, for the cognitive challenges you may face, and for the emotional strain. As in all of life, some things can’t be predicted. You can, however, plan how you will deal with stress as it arises by learning and using stress relief techniques and making them a part of your life to the degree that it will be almost second nature to rely on them when you most need them.

Uncertainty about the future can cause significant anxiety and stress. There will always be uncertainty about the future, whether there is a person in the family who has Alzheimer’s disease or not. To cope with uncertainty, continue to do what you are currently doing: educate yourself about Alzheimer’s disease and, to the extent possible, prepare yourself for what is to come. It is always different when it is your loved one involved and there will likely be events for which you haven’t prepared yourself, but the more you can prepare yourself for the future the better. Note that preparing yourself is vastly different from worrying about the future and stewing about it. The latter is stress inducing and counter-productive. There is a great deal of power in the thoughts contained in the Serenity prayer used by Alcoholic Anonymous and other groups – paraphrased, it advises us to do our best to control the things that we can control, let go of the things that we cannot control, and the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

Maintain a healthy diet. Eating “comfort food” now and then is fine, but the more that you can eat a healthy, balanced diet the better it is for your overall health and ability to cope with stress. Foods and substances high in the following substances tend to compound the effects of stress by stimulating the same chemical substances and bodily functions as stress itself: caffeine, sugar, nicotine, alcohol, and sodium (salt).
Exercise. For many people exercise is one of the most effective means of relieving stress and maintaining good emotional health. Research has shown that brain chemistry changes in ways that improve your sense of well-being and overall mental health. It is one of the few things that we do in life that is good for almost every aspect of your health, both mental and physical. Caregiving also tends to lead to a tendency to isolate oneself, and finding ways to exercise outside of the house, even by taking walks with a friend, is an excellent way to avoid isolation that can lead to and intensify depression and other effects of stress. Yoga is an excellent formalized exercise routine when it comes to maintaining health and reliving stress.

Work on your attitude. Negative thinking is destructive and serves no purpose other than to make you feel worse about your situation and the world around you. As discussed before, you must be realistic about your ability to undertake caregiving. If you think negatively about the situation you now find yourself in without honest appraisal of the situation, you’re not being honest with yourself or realistic. If your realistic appraisal tells you that some or all of the tasks of caregiving are beyond your capabilities, then give yourself credit for being honest with yourself and work from that premise. If you simply tend to work from an “I can’t” perspective, learn to challenge your negative thought patterns. Catch your pattern at its beginning and counteract you negative thoughts with more positive ones. If it helps, write both down. If you tend toward the negative, you may have to work to find more positive thoughts to counterbalance the negative ones. The positives are there but some people have to work harder to find them. Use positive self-talk if it helps: tell yourself that you can do things rather than you can’t, that you are capable, and so on. And do not dwell on your failures. You will have them – everyone does. If you dwell on them they will magnify, overshadow your successes, and lead to negative thinking patterns.
Do not avoid your emotions. You are in a situation in which strong emotions will sometimes arise and you must acknowledge and deal with them. Denying their existence will lead to those emotions coming out in other ways and a tendency to feel more easily overwhelmed. The emotions that you have denied and suppressed are underlying the stress that piles on top of them, leading to an additive effect that can feel suffocating after a while.

Engage in leisure and recreational activities. You need to find a balance in your life and leisure/recreation should be a part of that balance. If you allow your entire life to be consumed by caregiving, it will show in your stress level and your caregiving abilities.

Avail yourself of respite care, adult dare care services, and other services that are available in your community. More is covered on this topic in a separate section detailing care options. Take the breaks offered by these services and find ways to do things that bring you pleasure and some stress relief during these breaks.

Don’t forget to laugh. Despite all of the stressors in the life of a caregiver, humor and laughter must remain a part of your life and part of the life of the person with Alzheimer’s disease.

Use established stress management techniques and/or healthy ones that have a history of being an effective means of stress relief for you. Techniques including deep breathing and breathing control, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and stress inoculation are just some of the methods currently in use. You can learn these techniques in one or two sessions with a professional, videotapes are available to teach the techniques, and there are books on the market that also teach the techniques. Although it may be harder to learn any of these techniques properly through books, if that is your only alternative it is better than not using any method at all to relieve stress.

We have alluded occasionally to your caregiving abilities deteriorating if you do not deal with your stress level, as well as to learning what your warning signs are for all sorts of situations, including stress overload. If you find that you are showing a number of these signs, it is time to reevaluate your situation, get assistance for yourself, get assistance with caregiving, and actively address your stress level. If you are showing signs of burnout, which may include acting in abusive ways toward the individual with Alzheimer’s disease, it is time to consider alternatives to you being the primary caregiver. Here are some of the signs of stress overload and burnout:

New physical problems or exacerbations of old ones such as high blood pressure, digestive problems, sleep difficulties, headaches, muscle tension leading to discomfort and other problems, and so on. Any of these are signs that you need to find ways to decrease the ways in which stress is affecting you.

Feeling chronically mentally and physically exhausted.

Chronic anger, depression, worry, anxiety, or irritability. Become easily angered with the individual who has Alzheimer’s is a sure sign that you are approaching burnout and need assistance or need to take a complete break from caregiving.

Significant and chronic changes in your sleep patterns.

Increasingly isolating yourself and your loved one.

Acting out toward the person with Alzheimer’s disease. This may include withholding care, intense anger at the individual who has put you in your current position, actively or passively withholding seeking medical attention when it is needed, and physically striking the person. If you have experienced this degree of stress, you have reached burnout and it is time to take a break from caregiving and consider alternate arrangements for your loved one.

If you have reached your limit and have to consider alternate caregiving arrangements for your loved one, do not consider it a failure. To the contrary, you should congratulate yourself for your honest appraisal of the situation and your ability to do what you need to in order to obtain the best care for the person you love.

Deborah Uetz
B.S. Education
Author of Into the Mist, frequent radio guest including the Dave Glover Show, Healthy Wealthy and Wise, and Jacqueline Marcell’s radio program Coping With Care Giving. *Into the Mist is available online at Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble or at my website listed below.

Into the Mist, When Someone You Love Has Alzheimer’s Disease
http://www.intothemist.us

First it was the Smart-phone that threatened to oust PDA. Now,
the PDA is all set to take on the heat from next generation PDA
the TDA.

Whats it all about?

Novinit a French company has developed the worlds first TDA or
Tactile Digital Assistant. The TDA is based on touch-screen
technology and relies entirely on your thumbs for input, which
are harder to lose than a stylus. The TDA is named Jackito and
comes with two simultaneous touch points so you can operate it
with your thumbs at the same time and so no need for a stylus.
Using the TDA is very easy, since you can search a database or a
large address book, with just your thumbs. Using the device with
your thumbs is actually much faster than a stylus well at least
thats what the company claims. The device comes with a variety
of features like finger-touch control, battery life, fast
graphics, multitasking, real-time processing, interchangeable
skins and much more. The idea of a device like Jackito was
conceived from the fact that the worlds first touch screen based
PDA was already developed by a US company called Litton in 1978
for the US and German armies. After some years Novinit pondered
If theres a touch screen based PDA for the armies, why not for
the gizmo lovers? Arnaud de la Fouchardire of Jackito says, The
architecture chosen for Jackito focuses on user friendliness.
Fingertips (as opposed to a stylus) are used as a natural device
for touching the options displayed by the LCD touch screen.
About 200 engineers from 10 countries for over 10 years, have
worked on making this device better and $50 million has been
invested in these efforts.

Seven Processors and a larger screen

The Jackito runs on seven processors with full
parallel-processing capabilities (two micro-controllers and five
accompanying reconfigurable cores), a large 4.5 color QVGA LCD
fingertip touch-screen that offers resolution of 320×240 dpi,
display with landscape orientation and two SD/MMC card slots.
The TDA runs on an operating system called 3ActilOS, has 2.5 MB
SRAM and 16 MB NOR Flash memory. The Jackito measures 140 x 80 x
16 mm and weighs just 150 g. It feeds on a single AA battery,
which according to the company, can sustain for several weeks.
Using the touch-screen with your thumbs or index fingers means
that you dont have to carry or use a stylus, keyboard or any
other input device. Also Novinit says that the finger’s contact
area is hundred times larger than that of a stylus and a stylus
exerts hundred times more pressure on the screen than a finger.
Arnaud goes on to say that The Jackito is not only an electronic
device, but also a personal companion, supporting the three
essential ingredients of a well-balanced lifestyle works
productivity, personal life and edutainment. The Jackito will
also come preloaded with about twenty applications, which
includes games, puzzles, address book, clock, to-do list,
synchronization feature, backup application, etc.

Want to buy it?

Novinit hasnt yet appointed any dealers for Jackito, though as
of now they plan to make all the transactions through their
website. The Jackito is available for sale on www.jackito.com at
a list price of 600. Novinit says that if you are interested in
buying the product, you will have to order it online through
their website by remitting $100 and then wait for about 90 days
for the product to be delivered to you. However, you can choose
the screen type (color or monochrome), user interface, removable
front cover and changeable stick-on strips of your choice. The
Jackito is entirely customizable you can choose between add-ons
like internal MP3 player, FM radio, microphone, headset,
Bluetooth, solar battery charger and much more at an extra cost.
According to Arnaud, they will target at “early adopters” for
this product, but the product is destined for everybody because
the product has all the facilities that we lack as human beings
gigantic memory, vast capabilities for computation, learning,
games and communications.

TDAs the way to go (or is it not?)

The development of the TDA doesnt stop here in fact this is just
the beginning. Novinit expects that by April 2005 it will be
able to make available innovative accessories for the TDA you
will be able to choose from WiFi modules, GPS, digital camera
(CMOS based), micro-printer, micro-scanner, barcode reader,
smart-card reader, TV module and much more. Though TDA seems to
be an in thing with all the features it talks about, there are
certain things that work against the very concept of digital
assistant. The Jackito doesnt come with character recognition
software built-in. It means that you will have to type through
the virtual keyboard on the TDAs screen if you want to enter a
few important data. This is far more tedious than just
scribbling a few notes on a PDA screen with the stylus and
leaving the conversion part to the handwriting recognition
software. The TDA runs on an operating system called the
ActilOS, which no one has even heard of before. This means that
there wont be any third party applications for the TDA, at least
immediately. Moreover the product is similar to a PDA its just
that the TDA can be used with the fingers / thumbs and supports
landscape orientation too.

Though the TDA seems promising enough, time will only tell
whether it remains stable in the market. So if you want to
experience the magic of TDA, logon to the Jackito’s website and
click on buy!