Balance is key to life in a world with power
2009/04/28
As an attempt to promote healthy living and exercise, Turn off the Screens Week is a noble venture.
Too many of us, especially children who in another era would have been playing tag or throwing a ball, are spending far too many hours slouched in a chair or lying on a couch in front of a screen of some description, rather than getting the exercise we so desperately need.
Most of us are overweight, many of us are obese, and all but a few of us can use more exercise, so this week's efforts across the province are to be congratulated. Our lives and our long-term health depend on it.
The irony of Turn off the Screens Week, however, is that the screens themselves may be more useful than ever, given the realities of the modern world. It's not just kids love who their screens; it's that the work they are doing, even if it's talking on Facebook, may well be foundation for a valuable skill in the future.
Increasingly, we need the skills we're honing at computer keyboards to survive and prosper in a rapidly changing world where being fluent in the language of the Internet can mean success or failure in a career.
It's all for nothing, of course, if you're not healthy enough, or not getting enough exercise, so the message from local health units this year seems to be one of balance.
And balance means considering exercise not just in place of screen time, but in place of so many other modern activities.
We are surrounded by machines, machines we've designed specifically to allow us to expend less energy and do less exercise:
We take escalators and elevators where once we took stairs. We drive instead of walking or riding a bicycle. Many people won't even buy a car if they have to roll up the windows with their own energy.
We use leaf blowers rather than rakes. A chainsaw rather than an axe. A weed clipper rather than a hoe. A snowblower rather than a shovel. An electric hedge trimmer rather than old-fashioned clippers.
In the kitchen, we prefer an electric mixer or a blender rather than a hand mixer or a spoon. A dishwasher rather than a dish rag. A washing machine rather than a washboard. An electric dryer rather than the clothesline.
We use electric drills instead of hand drills. Electric saws rather than hand saws. Electric screwdrivers rather than hand screwdrivers . . .
Air defense drill slated for today
2009/04/16
South Korean military will conduct a simulated air defense training exercise today from 8:30 p.m. for an hour and a half nationwide except for Jeju Island, officials at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday.
Taking place twice annually, the air drill is aimed at increasing the nation's ability to defend against possible enemy air infiltration.
Along with interception forces, some 20 aircraft, including the supersonic F-15 fighter jets and the UH-1H helicopters, will be mobilized for the drill.
The JCS asked for the public's understanding and cooperation during the exercise, adding that "unusual noise can be caused in the Seoul metropolitan area where such flight trainings are rarely conducted."
Sources from: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE
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