Perplexing Printer Puzzle

Recently I was learning to use a new computer printer from a leading manufacturer. It came through a Mail order service, on a web site.

Having been using printers as part of my job, still, I had not gone into the nitty-gritty of it-installation, ink cartridges etc. However, since it was a DIY manual, I decided to face up to the task.

The manual was well structured and the topics were easy to find, in logical sequence. I moved along smoothly through installing the printer software, making the settings, connecting printer and computer, even the totally unfamiliar task of loading the ink cartridges. Ah, now to print! But we needed to load the paper. Where was it? Of course, in the paper tray.

Unsuspectingly, I put the sheet of paper in the protruding tray in the front. No need of the manual for this. I switched on the power, opened a document and gave the print command.

Nada. Nothing.

I checked the manual. A picture was given of the paper tray, how to pull it out, etc. It was a close-up, and unfortunately, it did not have a reference. That is, one could not make out on which part of the printer this tray was located. I tried hard to locate any part that resembled that in the figure. The only protruding part (a paper tray should protrude, right?) was in the front, but it did not have any of the tabs mentioned in the manual and the figure. I pressed and pulled at various other parts in the hope that the tray would spring open.

Mortified that my tech savvy, super fast installation had been botched just at the finishing line by a most plain task, I stalled, perplexed. A good thirty minutes must have gone on it.

I sat before the printer, eyeing it with growing exasperation. My plight reminded me of the proverbial simian with the coconut. More than that, it hurt when one's pride in being tech-savvy was reduced to rubble.

Who would have guessed that the paper tray would be covered and be at the back of the printer? Somehow this idea clicked in my brain and I tried pulling a latch at the back of the printer. Lo! There was the paper tray. Having used only Laser jets till now, and their paper trays being opened from the front, I was conditioned to look for the tray in the front.

It was a bit frustrating that the creators of the manual did not try to think from a possible perspective that some users would have. They just cannot assume that all users will know the location of the tray. What is the point in showing a close up of the paper tray, without showing where it is located? All parts are straight lines and look alike to the first time user.

Showing a picture of the printer and referencing each part with a letter can avoid this unsavory situation. It should be easy to distinguish the front, back and the sides-left and right.

That will save time and make for a great user-friendly manual that even Grandmas can use!
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Take Charge of Your Life...or We Will !

If you do not rule yourself, you are asking to be ruled, and you will be.
If you do not manage yourself, you will be managed.
If you do not discipline yourself, you will be disciplined.

If you do not manage your time, somebody else will do it.
If you do not set your own goals, somebody else will do it.
If you do not make your choices this moment, somebody else will.

If you do not think for yourself, somebody else will do it, and not in your best interests.

After all,
you alone can eat to sate your hunger, others cannot !
you alone can breath your breaths, every single one of them !
Then why not think for yourself ?
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Aikido as a De-stresser

Today, dealing with day to day situations and yet enjoying a reservoir of inner peace is challenging enough. Life has built up a frenetic pace, especially in the metro cities. Throw in drugs, terrorism, porn, communal and religious politics - we have a Pandora's box open.

Chasing as we are our dream of material super wealth, when mishap strikes, we are like deer caught in headlights: ill equipped to deal with life's exigencies. Forget about the external issues, how do we handle issues within our families and in our relationships ? The age old tit-for-tat rule reigns even now, and well wishers who come in to resolve disputes end up aggravating them.

We need to equip ourselves to have a balanced perspective on life. We need a poise to be able to deal with life's challenges. Why?

We have to eat for ourselves, breath for ourselves, and pretty much everything else. Why not think for ourselves as well ? Nobody else can do that for us. If they did, even if with the best of intentions, it would be from a skewed view of situations. Only you have the true picture of your life.

Let us see how Aikido's(a Japanese martial art) philosophy can help us in our challenging issues.

Aikido's basic philosophy is non-resistance. It is not just non-resistance: neutralization is a more accurate description. While Christ exhorts us to turn the other cheek to an attacker, Aikido advises to turn your cheek before being hit. in other words, it entails us to maintain a constant alertness.

Aikido does not aim at vanquishing and destroying an opponent. It aims at tuning in to the attacker's energy so that we can harmonize and neutralize it. For this reason there are no attacks practised in Aikido, except for training. Also, fending off an attack, an aikidoka does not look at how it turns out- it is just a deflection of energy of the attack- executed smoothly.

This is in contrast to conventional martial arts where participants aim for a decisive win. The word Aikido in Japanese means the way of Universal Harmony. It was founded by a Japanese martial artist, Ueshiba Morihei. He underwent prolonged training in Jujitsu and Judo before he developed his own unique art, Aikido.

Apart from the physical art, the principles of Aikido can be applied to day to day life situations as well. An excellent example is given by Terry Dobson.

It is about an incident that happened to Dobson while he was learning Aikido in Japan. You can see the essence of Aikido in real life. Please see Terry Dobson for the full story.

This incident demonstrates the secret of how Aikido can help us defuse tensions in real life situations: refuse to yield or fight against the anger in the other person. Instead we neutralize the energy by harmonizing.

In simple words, on a physical level: move in the same direction as the offending energy-push when you are pulled, pull when you are pushed.

Aikido practice has meditation as an important part of it. It is through meditation that one can achieve the thought free state, a prerequisite for seeing things as they are. Through meditation and Aikido practice, practitioners achieve such feats as having irresistible power in hands such that they cannot be stopped etc.

As there is no winning and losing in Aikido, it does not have tournaments either. Perhaps you can say a practitioner loses when he becomes angry.

Suppressing anger is not the way to resolve it. When we maintain a non-critical, non-judgmental awareness of the thoughts and emotions arising in us, they automatically quiet down. The peace that you experience forms an aura around you and transfers to others.
Note: This article was posted on Articlesbase.com on Dec 8, 2009. Link: Here
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