Recent weeks have seen the return of the savage pain that is the RSI/CTS/Tenosynovitis which has plagued me on and off for the last 4 years. The sensation of having red hot pokers plunged into my upper forearm and blunt drills driven through my mouse hand carpals has been a deterrent to all but essential PC use. For anyone out there who is tempted to ignore the odd twinge, work through the next screen break or simply chug a few Advil/Nurofen/PK of choice, strap their wrist and carry on regardless, I would say this: DON'T BE SO DUMB! Get it checked out, read up on the condition and make changes to your computer-using habits before it is too late. One handy piece of donationware I have found recently is Mouse Tool, which allows users, with a little practice, to click, double click, right click and drag & drop without using the mouse buttons. Check the rest of Jeff Roush's site out for more details and some good links to sites concerning RSI/CTS/Tenosynovitis.
And now the Joy, for like the Angel Gabriel rehearsing for next month, I am the bearer of glad tidings. She Who Must Be Obeyed And Holder Of The Familial Purse, presented a golden opportunity for me to broach the ever-thorny subject of 'I really need a new PDA, sweetheart' this lunchtime. She walked into the kitchen, displaying the facial expression that she normally reserves for the announcements of pregnancy (four times to date), wallet-emptying car damage (three times in 12 years) and the desire to increase the headcount of the household animal population (too many times to count). To my momentarily cold sweated but then deeply relieved and joy, it was the latter subject rather than one of the former, with SWMBO and the three eldest offspring doing 'labarador puppy eyes' to reinforce the message. Through relief more than reasoned consideration, I eagerly agreed and then launched into a counter-bargaining stance, stating that I wanted to move back to a PalmOS PDA after my 18 month flirtation with the PPC world in the shape of my iPaq. My magnanimous and benevolent attitude towards getting yet another kitten was more than enough to render her usual responses all but useless. The long drawn discussions about the actual need for a fourth PDA, the fog of uncomprehending resistance typical of the technophobic spouse and the dreaded nitty-gritty of EXACTLY how much more is 'a little bit more expensive than the last one' actually is - these were all dispensed with and replaced by two or three questions of token resistance before capitulation and agreement!
The smart money is on a Sony Clie NR70 or NX70 at this time. To help me choose (and continue the Nativity theme started earlier), I am exploiting the feedback of Three Wise Men, namely Happy Palm colleagues Chuck and Jason, who have recently bought Sony PDAs themselves, and the ever helpful Steve T, stalwart of many a PalmOS PUG. I will, of course, post progress reports on the final choice and acquisition.
Posted by bignoseduglyguy at November 23, 2002 07:49 AM