Bloggus

No Joy in Nerdville Well, its been a bad day in the tech department; Or a bad afternoon, at least. After 2 and a half years of faithful service, my beloved, trusty, Kensington Expert Mouse Pro, the champion of all trackballs, has clicked its last link. As a solution to the ergnomic woes of a full-time programmer, and a shield against the rapid acceleration of my carpal tunnel afflictions, the Kensington had no peer. A large radiused ball in the center, perfect for using the whole hand and wrist or just a couple of finger tips, and as accurate a cursor as one could dream of, unfortunately no longer provides a horizontal axis of movement. After overcoming the first wave of shock and sadness, I journeyed around the corner to my boss's office, to find a temporary replacement. Who would have forseen the problem of keeping a fleet of spare ps2 computer peripherals on hand, when the new computer I'm using has no such port? USB only, and therefore, no backup mouse. Faced with the reality of productivity reaching full stop, I armed myself with departmental purchase requisitions, a shopping list of other needed items for coworkers, and marched towards the campus computer store. Shock and Awe! The Kensington models are no longer stocked by our local purveyor of nerd groceries! Oh the humanity! Not even a Logitech trackball was to be found. I ended up with a Microsoft brand trackball that, after 30 seconds of use, I already feel spite towards, and a Logitech wireless, rechargable "laser" mouse, because Optical is so last century. The mouse sits in its charger cradle upright, looking an awful lot like a Borg drone in regeneration, threatening the very identity and soul of my desk, and the MS trackball is as generic as one might expect from the company who owns everything. Neither of them have the extra programmable keys that I use constantly for opening certain web pages and programs needed for work, either. Its going to take me a long time to adjust. Beyond the asthetic and emotional traumas of the day, I do have serious concerns about the ergnomic possibilities of my desk. I've long discussed with my boss the need to have something done to it, and he seems to be willing to allow whatever. The position of the trackball is already giving me that familiar sensation in the wrist, the one that says "go for a walk and stretch your arms, or your hands will go numb this evening save for sharp, shooting pains." Probably the best way to affect change in this situation is to call the Occupational Health folks to my office and have them do an evaluation. I had this done a long time ago, in another office, but never with the current setup. I know much of what they will say, but having a clinician-signed report that says "It is impossible for you to work with the correct arm , leg, neck, and back positions at that desk" will hopefully be a useful thing, and they may even have some suggestions, which would be preferable to my insisting on more and more expensive equipment just at my own say-so. Please join me in a moment of silence as we mourn the loss of the Kensington Expert Mouse Pro. The original: Rest in peace, good buddy. The "Replacements"