FOR YOUR HEALTH: Smart Lighting Solutions to Combat Eye Strain from Screen Time

/0 Comments/in /by

The ScreenBar Halo offers tech-driven eye comfort for computer users by supplying real-time auto-dimming light to soothe digital eye strain.

(NAPSI)—Research shows that remote workers spend over half of their day—13 hours on average—looking at screens. This much time spent looking at a computer can produce digital eye strain, also known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).

How To Help Your Eyes

It’s estimated that digital eye strain affects 60 million people worldwide, and over 70 percent of computer users. Resulting symptoms include headaches, blurry vision, neck and eye pain, double vision, delay in shifting focus, and more.

Sound familiar? If you’re experiencing digital eye strain from spending countless hours in front of a screen, you will be glad to know, BenQ’s tech-driven smart lights can offer a solution.
Digital eye strain is often caused by differences in light – screen glare, light reflection, screen brightness and contrast are all contributing factors. Renowned for its pioneering lighting solutions – including the world’s first monitor light bar, the ScreenBar—the company boasts a full line of smart lights that help reduce digital eye strain. Designed based on extensive research by a team of optical professionals and backed by EU IEC/IR 62778 and IEC/EN 62471 dual certifications for blue light hazards, these smart lights bring tech-driven eye comfort to computer users everywhere.

Reimagine Laptop Lighting

For someone needing a portable solution to mitigate insufficient computer light, BenQ’s new LaptopBar (https://bit.ly/4arLWb2) is ideal. This compact light bar attaches to your laptop via a non-damaging magnetic patch, and through an innovative process involving 20 million beam simulations, creates a CIRCUM-Light™ 3D-surrounding illumination that brings together central brightness and ambient light to alleviate eye strain.

The light bar also offers:

• A personalized auto-dimming feature, which remembers your specific lighting preferences and intelligently adapts to changes in environmental light.
• A foldable arm offering height adjustability for your smart light, letting you choose between a limited or wide field of light.

Weighing less than an iPhone 15 Pro, the LaptopBar is easy to transport and intuitive to use. A built-in battery can maintain 100 minutes of operation at 100% brightness and 160 minutes at 50% brightness, so you can use it anywhere.

Tech-Driven Lighting Solutions

An innovator of eye-comforting light for your monitor, BenQ’s ScreenBar Halo (https://bit.ly/3Rxgn6R) securely clamps onto most monitor models to distribute light around your workspace. It features:

• BenQ’s first immersive back lighting mode, which lets you switch among three lighting modes to balance any contrasting light between your computer screen and its surroundings.
• An ASYM-Light™ asymmetrical optical design that prevents reflected glare on the screen and reduces digital eye strain; and a real-time auto-dimming feature with a built-in light sensor detects ambient lighting and supplements illumination of the desktop as needed.

The wireless controller lets you switch lighting modes from your desktop and customize the lighting for a range of environments.

Taking Control of Your Eye Care

You can take care of your eyes by supplying the light relief they need. Your screen time likely won’t be decreasing any time soon, but with smart lighting solutions like BenQ’s LaptopBar and ScreenBar Halo, you can decrease eye strain and promote eye comfort no matter how much time you spend in front of a screen.

Learn More

For additional information and resources on improving eye health, visit: https://www.benq.com/en-us/lighting.html.

REVIEW POTPOURRI – Playwright: Roger Boyle; Forgettable songs; How to Get Away With Murder

/0 Comments/in /by

Roger Boyle

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Roger Boyle

For some years, I have found that the only criticism worth reading, whether books, music, etc., is that which has a passion for the subject, and a sense that the writing is a means of putting one’s thoughts in order while bringing the reader along in this journey.

In his endlessly rereadable Collected Essays, Graham Greene achieved this consistently. Among his interests were the English playwrights from after Shakespeare to the 18th century. One essay, An Unheroic Dramatist, is a 1937 book review of The Dramatic Works of Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery, edited by William Smith Clark.

Looking up Boyle (1621-1679) on Wiki, I find out he was an Irish Protestant landowner, soldier, historian and poet. He was ferociously anti-Catholic and sided with the English against the Irish Catholics and other independents. And he blew the way the wind blew. He supported the rule of King Charles the First (1600-1649) before that monarch was overthrown and beheaded in the Tower of London, then aligned himself with the King’s adversary Oliver Cromwell after the latter took power and, after Cromwell’s death in 1659, made the leap to safety in supporting King Charles the Second who came back to the throne after being in exile.

I offer the opening paragraph of Greene’s book review for an assessment of Boyle’s merits as a writer and playwright:

“Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery, is one of the great bores of literature, and it can hardly have been a labour of love for Mr. Clark to edit for the first time eight ponderous heroic plays, hardly lightened by two attempts at comedy. Yet all admirers of the period will be grateful: there is a peculiar satisfaction in seeing one more gap in Restoration scholarship filled with such immense efficiency: no crack between the bricks. …They will read with gorged satisfaction that one of these plays, The Tragedy of Zoroastes, has never before been printed that Orrery’s first play, The Generall, had been previously printed only in a private edition of eighty copies. Another great booming bogus piece, The Tragedy of King Saul, is added to the Orrery Canon for the first time. All this, with the really magnificent notes on Restoration [term for the 1660s monarchy of Charles the Second] stage-craft, is a not unworthy harvest of eight years labour.”

This is a very good example of Greene’s razor sharp clarity with words, his passion for this period of literature, his occasional willingness to be bored and his finely tuned ability at separating the wheat from the chaff.

Forgettable songs

Walter Van Brunt

Henry Burr

A 1910 acoustically recorded 10 inch shellac record, Columbia A897, contains two glaringly awful old-fashioned deservedly forgettable songs:

Side A – Any Little Girl, That’s A Nice Little Girl, Is The Right Little Girl For Me, as sung by then 18-year-old Walter Van Brunt (1892-1971).

Side B – I’ve Got The Time; I’ve Got The Place, But It’s Hard To Find The Girl, as vocalized by Henry Burr, the frequently used recording name for Harry McClaskey (1882-1941).

Deservedly forgettable but a historically fascinating record of sheer idiocy in Tin Pan Alley songwriting before World War I erupted.

How to Get Away With Murder

Viola Davis

Last night I watched the first episode of an ABC series, How To Get Away With Murder, which ran for six seasons beginning in 2014. The opening episode was sporadic in its interest but actress Viola Davis as the main character, a law professor at a prestigious university somewhere in Philadelphia, was well worth watching.

 

 

 

 

.

SMALL SPACE GARDENING: Testing, sharing, and saving leftover seeds

/0 Comments/in /by

Seeds, a damp paper towel, and a plastic bag are all you need to test the viability of stored seeds. (photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com)

by Melinda Myers

As you scour the seed catalogs and websites for new and favorite flower and vegetable seeds, take time to inventory the seeds you have saved from previous years. You’ll save money by not buying more of the seeds you already have so you’ll have more to spend on something new.

Starting with fresh seeds from a reliable seed company helps boost your growing success. But what gardener can resist getting the most out of every purchase by saving and planting seeds left from previous years?

Seeds stored in a consistently cool, not freezing, dry, dark location can last for one to five or more years. Start by checking the packaging or expiration date on the packet. Onions, parsley, parsnips, and salsify seeds usually last one year while corn, okra, and pepper seeds last an average of two years. Beans and peas generally last for three years; tomatoes, turnips, beets chard, and watermelon four; and Brussels sprouts, cabbage, muskmelon, radishes, and spinach are the longest lasting at five years.

Perennial flower seeds last an average of two to four years while annual flower seeds last from one to three years depending on the species. There are always exceptions with a few seeds that were found lasting more than a hundred years.

You may find your properly stored seeds last longer than the averages. But once seeds pass their average life expectancy you may see a reduction in germination. Use this quick and easy test to see if your stored seeds will sprout and grow. Place ten seeds on a damp paper towel. Roll up the towel with the seeds safely tucked inside. Set the paper towel in a plastic bag and store it in a warm dark location.

After a week or so, unwrap the paper towel and check the seeds for sprouting. If nothing has happened, rewrap the seeds and wait a few more days.

If all the seeds have sprouted, you have one hundred percent germination and can plant the seeds according to the label directions. If only half the seeds sprout, you should plant the seeds twice as thick to compensate for the lower germination. You can plant these sprouted seeds if you have the available gardening space and the growing conditions are right for the seeds to grow.

If none of the seeds sprout, consider breaking out the glue and getting the family involved in turning these nonviable seeds into seed art. Then make some adjustments to your seed storage strategies in the future. Leave seeds in their original package so you have all the information you need when inventorying and planting the seeds the following season. Place the envelope in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator or a consistently cool, not freezing location.

If you’ve lost seeds to hungry rodents try storing them in the refrigerator or metal or glass containers. Sealed plastic containers are fine for the seeds, but hungry mice can eat their way through the plastic to your stored seeds.

You, like many gardeners, often end up with more seeds than you will ever grow. Consider sharing these with others by donating them to school groups, community gardeners, and master gardeners who will put them to use in various gardens in your community. Or organize a seed swap. Just gather your gardening friends or work colleagues, the seeds and catalogs, and throw a garden party. The last Saturday in January is National Seed Swap Day and a good excuse to gather and share.

Seed swaps are a great way to find unusual or unique seeds. It is also a great way to save money and get the greatest value by sharing extra seeds with friends and family.

Once the seed swapping is done you may want to break out the catalogs, check online seed retailers, and place a group seed order. Working together you’ll be able to order a wider variety of seeds for greater diversity in the garden. Everyone can take what they need so there will be fewer seeds to save in the future. Plus, ordering larger packets is usually more economical. And you’ll have an excuse for another party when you meet to divide up the goods.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the recently released Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The lady beetles seem to be everywhere

/0 Comments/in /by

Lady beetle

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

All of a sudden, there they were. One was walking up the side of my computer monitor at work, the other, traversing across the top of my steering wheel on my home from work later that day. And finally, on the east side of my house, in the windows, the following morning at sunrise.

Lady beetles, ladybugs, or ladybird beetles are among the most visible and best known beneficial predatory insects. Over 450 species are found in North America. Some are native and some have been introduced from other countries.

Just to set the record straight, they are not bugs, but beetles.

Most lady beetles in North America are beneficial as both adults and larvae, feeding primarily on aphids. They also feed on mites, small insects, and insect eggs. The two exceptions are the introduced Mexican bean beetle, and the squash beetle. The adults and larvae of both species feed on plants.

Lady beetles are usually red or orange with black markings. Some lady beetles are black, often with red markings. They have alligator-like larvae.

Many crops benefit from lady beetles. They are helpful for growers of vegetables, grain crops, legumes, strawberries, and tree crops; however any crop that is attacked by aphids will benefit from these beetles.

Most lady beetles found on crops and in gardens are aphid predators. Some species prefer only certain aphid species while others will attack many aphid species on a variety of crops. Some prefer mite or scale species. If aphids are scarce, lady beetle adults and larvae may feed on the eggs of moths and beetles, and mites, thrips, and other small insects, as well as pollen and nectar. They may also be cannibalistic. Because of their ability to survive on other prey when aphids are in short supply, lady beetles are particularly valuable natural enemies.

Adult lady beetles are small, round to oval, and dome-shaped. The most well known have black markings on red, orange, or yellow forewings, but some are black. The area immediately behind the head, the pronotum, may also have a distinctive pattern. The color and pattern of markings for each species may vary, but can aid identification.

Lady beetles overwinter as adults, often in aggregations along hedgerows, beneath leaf litter, under rocks and bark, and in other protected places including buildings. In spring, the adults disperse in search of prey and suitable egg laying sites. This dispersal trait, especially strong in migratory species such as the commercially available convergent lady beetle, can affect the reliability of control by released adult beetles.

Lady beetles are voracious feeders and may be numerous where prey are plentiful and broad-spectrum insecticide use is limited. Lady beetles need to eat many aphids per day so that they can lay eggs. The convergent lady beetle may eat its weight in aphids every day as a larva and consume as many as 50 aphids per day as an adult. Sevenspotted lady beetle adults may consume several hundred aphids per day and each larva eats 200 to 300 aphids as it grows. Once the adults and larvae have eliminated an aphid colony, they will search for additional food.

Lady beetles are effective predators if aphids are abundant (high pest density) but are thought to be less effective at low pest densities. There may also be some crop damage before lady beetles have an impact on an aphid population.

Most lady beetle species are active from late spring to early fall if food is available. Lady beetles are mobile as adults and reasonably so as larvae, and they are generalists. They will not remain on a plant, or in the vicinity, once the readily accessible prey has been consumed.

Early season populations of some lady beetles may develop on aphid-infested perennials or shrubs. Collection and redistribution of lady beetles is effective but time consuming. The beetles should be handled gently and placed in groups at the base of plants, rather than broadcast. Hibernating adults, congregating in protected spaces, should not be disturbed as they are vulnerable to attack by predators and parasitoids if uncovered.

Roland’s trivia questionn of the week:

Name the four NFL franchises to have never appeared in a Super Bowl.

Answer
Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns.

AARP accepting community challenge grant applications

/0 Comments/in , , /by

AARP Maine invites local eligible non-profit organizations and governments across the country to apply for the 2024 AARP Community Challenge grant program, now through Wednesday, March 6, at 5 p.m. Eastern. AARP Community Challenge grants fund quick-action projects that help communities become more livable by improving public places, transportation, housing, digital connections, and more. Now in its eighth year, the program is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for all residents, especially those age 50 and older.

The AARP Community Challenge accepts applications across three different grant opportunities. All projects must be consistent with AARP’s mission to serve the needs of people 50 and older along with other eligibility criteria.

Capacity-building microgrants are paired with additional resources, such as one-on-one coaching, webinars, cohort learning opportunities and more for improving walkability, bikeability and implementing safe, accessible home modifications.

Demonstration grants focus on improving digital connections to prepare and respond to disasters; reconnecting communities divided by infrastructure; and housing choice design competitions.

Flagship grants support projects that improve public places; transportation; housing; diversity, equity and inclusion; civic engagement; community health and economic empowerment; and new this year community resilience; and digital connections.

“AARP is committed to meeting the needs of a rapidly aging population in communities across the country,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer.

The Community Challenge is open to eligible nonprofit organizations and government entities. Other types of organizations are considered on a case-by-case basis. Grants can range from several hundred dollars for small, short-term activities to tens of thousands for larger projects.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. All projects must be completed by December 15, 2024. To submit an application and view past grantees, visit www.AARP.org/CommunityChallenge.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: The Transformative Value of Health Coaching

/0 Comments/in /by

A little help from a good coach can make a big difference in your health and happiness.

(NAPS)—If you’ve ever tried to make a healthy lifestyle change, you may have found that your initial excitement fades quickly, and you return to your old habits. Well, you’re not alone. 

In fact, going into this new year, more and more health plans are including a helpful program benefit that helps members transform their own health and stick to new behaviors—health coaching.

Health coaching is a dynamic and impactful approach to health care. It has the potential to change lives in numerous positive ways. The collaborative partnership between a trained health coach and a health plan member is rooted in several key principles and strategies including personalized guidance, behavior change, and empowerment. Some of the key aspects of coaching include enhancing well-being, learning, social support, instruction, and the development of improved habits. 

“The reason I love coaching so much—and why I say it’s transformative—is because it is so rare for someone to come into a space where the focus is completely on them, where a coach wants to know about their hopes, empathizes with their struggles, and knows how to help them find their way,” said Emily Adams, a national board-certified health and wellness coach, who manages coach performance at American Specialty Health (ASH).

While promoting health through lifestyle changes is nothing new, it was only in the past 30 years that health coaching has become a widely accepted activity, one that’s designed to help people convert their wellness goals into effective actions.

Today, with refined coaching processes and behavior-change techniques, an entire industry has evolved to empower a lot more individuals to live healthier. And in this post-pandemic era, virtual health coaching and well-being programs are burgeoning in modern health care. 

Physical health is not the only thing that health coaches address. They recognize the connection between fitness, mental health, and emotional well-being.

“Some people start working with a coach thinking they want help with their diet but realize that the reason they are eating poorly is because they don’t have tools to cope with stress,” Adams said. “Many are surprised when they start to recognize their own strengths, improve their confidence, and start to take ownership of their thoughts—recognizing how they are working for and against their goals.”

Adams works with well-being coaches in the Silver&Fit® Healthy Aging & Exercise program to ensure quality member support through coach training and oversight. Silver&Fit members can be paired with certified health coaches to work on their fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle goals during scheduled phone or video sessions. 

“We’ve had members come into the program completely defeated and unsure if they will ever be able to improve their health,” Adams said. “We’ve also had members who are very close to reaching their health goals and just need a little extra support to get there.”

Health coaching holds immense potential for health plan members. According to Adams, the benefits a member might gain from working with a health coach could include: 

• Clarity about their hopes, values, and goals 

• Confidence in themselves, their strengths, and their abilities and how to advocate for themselves and their health 

• Tools for self-accountability, positive habit forming, and proactively managing stress 

• Knowing how to break big changes into small, manageable steps 

• Awareness of thought barriers and how to overcome them 

• Learning how to find what they need and use their resources

“As coaches, we get to walk alongside people as they grow, learn, discover, and utilize their strengths to be the healthiest versions of themselves,” said Adams. 

It’s important that your health plan supports your long-term health and well-being. If you want to make healthy lifestyle changes in the coming year, check with your health plan on coaching program benefits. And if you find you have this benefit, make the most of it. The transformative power of working with a coach can have a lasting impact and help you take control of your health and maintain your well-being.

Debbie Walker: a dear friend

/0 Comments/in /by

Debbie Walker

by Peg Pellerin

Like many of you readers, I was so surprised and shocked to read that we lost one of our fellow writers. Debbie Walker was such an inspiration to me to start writing and thankfully be able to submit my writings to this paper.

I first met Debbie through my boyfriend Edgar. Many times, in her articles she would mention his name, telling all of you of some of the funny things that his sons had done, or said, as children and also sharing some of the things his own father said.

One day, after reading her articles in The Town Line, Edgar emailed her about meeting for lunch to talk about some old stories that he had about his father and his brothers when they were still home up in Lille, Maine, many years ago. This was just before she made the move to Florida.

Soon after, I started emailing her, letting her know how I enjoyed her articles and even used some of the hints she mentioned within those articles. Back in 2020, when schools were going through a hybrid mode, I told Debbie about the assistant principal where I was working who wore many hats, filling in for folks who weren’t able to come in to work. She told me to write something about it, which I did. She said it was done so well that I should submit it myself to The Town Line, which I did, and they printed it! She had been after me to continue with writing, but I just didn’t know how to start.

A couple of summers ago, Edgar and I went to visit her at a camp here in Maine where she was staying for a while. She and I got to talking again about my writing and we went into more detail about my going about it. Thanks to her advice, I wrote the story titled The House, which this paper ran for several months.

I’ll miss reading her articles and the emails she, Edgar, and I shared. She was a wonderful individual.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Chechaquo, To Build a Fire, Winter Dreams, Doctor Zhivago scene

/0 Comments/in /by
Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Chechaquo

When I woke up this morning at 2:30 a.m., the temperature was 9 degrees Fahrenheit. In that context, I find these following sentences from a story written more than 100 years ago quite pertinent, powerful, thought provoking and eerily poetic:

“But all this – the mysterious, far-reaching hair-line trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all – made no impression on the man. It was not because he was long used to it. He was a newcomer in the land, a CHECHAQUO [Native-American definition for tenderfoot, greenhorn, newcomer, beginner], and this was his first winter. The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significance. Fifty degrees below zero meant eighty-odd degrees of frost. Such fact impressed him as being cold and uncomfortable, and that was all.”

To Build a Fire

Jack London

To Build a Fire, by Jack London (1876-1916), first captivated my imagination when I read it in one sitting during my 1964-65 schoolyear at the long-closed Carl B. Lord School, in North Vassalboro. I also soon found out in that initial reading that the man didn’t realize that it was really 75 degrees below zero, not 50 degrees, according to the native husky dog walking alongside him who shared a brotherhood with the wilder wolves and was more experienced, in its brute intuition, with Yukon Territory survival.

Yet another detail of startling vividness was the man spitting saliva and the saliva making a loud crackling noise before it even hits the ground.

Jack London was one of three extraordinary American novelists born during the 1870s who died young, the other two being Stephen Crane and Frank Norris.

Winter Dreams

Tchaikovsky

The First Symphony of Tchaikovsky has the title of Winter Dreams and its second movement has exquisitely hushed strings evoking the peace of nighttime. There are numerous recordings of high quality, several of which can be heard on You Tube.

Doing a quick check, I found four very good ones by Herbert von Karajan, Igor Markevitch, Gennady Rozhdest­vensky and Michael Tilson Thomas.

Doctor Zhivago scene

The 1965 classic Doctor Zhivago had a wide span scene of the vast Russian winter wilderness so brilliantly realistic I was shivering in my seat when I first saw it at a revival movie house some 40 years ago.

Scene from Doctor Zhivago

Give Us Your Best Shot! for Thursday, January 11, 2024

/0 Comments/in /by

To submit a photo for this section, please visit our contact page or email us at townline@townline.org!

PARTIAL ECLIPSE: Joan Chaffee, of Clinton, snapped this photo of a partial eclipse on October 14, 2023.

SPECTACULAR: Tina Richard, of Clinton, took this spectacular photo of an immature bald eagle during her walk down a favorite trail.

LOW HANGING FRUIT?: Caroline Holden’s game camera caught this deer grazing on some vegetation recently.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: What to know about RSV

/0 Comments/in /by
(NAPSI)—You may remember the old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That’s never been more true than it is right now about good health and older adults, especially when it comes to protecting yourself during what is commonly known as respiratory disease season (fall through early spring).
Last year saw the devastating effects of an increase in COVID, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and pneumonia on the wellbeing of older Americans. Fortunately, most people had access to vaccines for all but RSV last year. And in good news for this year, for the first time ever, there is a vaccine approved by FDA for preventing RSV in older adults.

The Problem

RSV is a serious respiratory virus whose full toll on seniors is just now being recognized. Each year, RSV results in up to 160,000 hospitalizations among people aged 65 and over and leads to as many as 10,000 deaths in older people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It can also prove serious for anyone with chronic conditions such as asthma, COPD, heart or other lung problems, certain autoimmune conditions and those receiving chemotherapy or radiation treatments. It is easily spread from contact with a contaminated surface as well as through the air (when someone infected sneezes or coughs), so anyone at any age can get it.

A Solution

RSV vaccines are now approved and available throughout the U.S. and the cost is covered fully for Medicare beneficiaries. These vaccines can truly protect your health across your lifespan as they are now available for adults aged 60 years or older, as well as for infants through maternal immunization.

What Else You Should Know

It is always a good idea to review your health plan. When contacting Medicare, make certain that you are contacting the actual government agency itself. Only government agencies can use the .gov ending and the best number to use to reach trained Medicare experts is 1-800-633-4227. It’s easy to remember – it’s 1-800-Medicare.
The National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP) created a resource outlining the five things to know about RSV to help get the word out about this important opportunity to protect the health of older adults. English and Spanish versions can be found at https://www.nanasp.org/vaccines.
It’s a good idea to talk to your pharmacist or healthcare provider about whether you should get the RSV vaccine, and any other recommended vaccines.