I’ve been absent from friends’ events and missed most of SL10B, though keeping up on blog posts and Twitter – it’s literally been a pain lately as I’ve been trying to deal with a case of Mouse Elbow, or Avatar’s Not-So-Funny-Bone, or whatever.

I have a work computer that’s set up to be pretty ergonomic – finally. For the first 6 months that I was working from home, I was NOT using the mouse in an ergonomically correct position, and I’ve been paying for it for the rest of the year. It came on slowly, but then started peaking about… 3 months ago.

My “fun” computer is at a different desk, different chair, different keyboard tray and mouse setup. NOT ergonomic at all, to begin with, but it was aggravating the RSI that was mostly due to my work tasks, which changed recently to include sending a LOT of emails. As I’m a fast typist (as my chat friends shake their heads knowingly) I set myself up for RSI good and proper.

To achieve a neutral position on the work computer desk, it’s a simple matter; I have a big wide articulated keyboard tray wide enough for my MS Ergo keyboard and a standard mouse. I adjusted the level, went through several office chairs, and also adjusted the way I sleep at night.

To achieve a neutral position on the “fun” computer desk, it’s not a simple matter. I have a chair that can be adjusted to be pretty high, but not high enough for the “computer desk” that I shouldn’t have bought for its looks alone. There’s a non-adjustable and narrow keyboard “shelf” that slides out that’s notquite wide enough for both a second MS Ergo keyboard and whatever crap mouse we had around the house. The mouse was the main problem, as I kept having to move my arm in a way that I knew was undoing the slow progress I was making during my work day.

So yesterday, after several weeks of thinking, whittering, and futzing around, I decided to try a trackball mouse.

So which one?

No, not the gaming mouse on the right, and not the center position alien slug one that didn’t have a scroll wheel, and not the wired trackball mouse, that’s been stupidly discontinued. I’m on the wireless Logitech M570 Wireless. It’s got a trackball by the thumb, 3button/scrollwheel, and 2 extra buttons that are currently mapped to “back” and “forward,” saving effort when flipping back to the previous webpage.

I’m still getting used to it for minor editing tweaks inworld, thought I haven’t used it yet for attempting to draw anything freehand in GIMP (as if, but you never know). I have yet to try it with Blender but the scrollwheel seems like it could act as the Middle Mouse Button (or I could map it for Blender, it’s customizable).

But it’s working, though it’s a bit weird to get used to the action (and training myself to remain in a proper position. So I’ll be inworld more, especially in the coming weeks for Relay for Life. Building, maybe not so much, but I’m feeling more comfortable with the controls, so we’ll see.

Kokua Not Cooperating (that’s a linguistic joke, yo)

I was very excited to read that Kokua had a big update ready to download – but I’ve messed it up and may have to uninstall and do a clean install, as the camera position is way, way off in Second Life. Kokua is handling the problem of how to handle Open Sim connectivity without using the Havok-powered physics (or whatever) that are licensed only for Second Life. Basically, they switch to another engine for Open Sim and disable the Havok engine, and vice versa for Second Life, so there’s one installation. But my camera position when in Second Life seems to be between my feet and looking up, effectively upskirting myself (but with my innards invisible except for weird stuff like my tongue and the inside surface of my face). It’s fine in Open Sim, but so not right in Second Life. Yet, they seem to have the Import/Export object conundrum sorted, though I haven’t tested it completely. That was one thing that I’d been waiting for; the ability to export and import prims that I make AND the ability to see and upload mesh. The other TPVs all have some but not all of these features, so that anyone wishing to create all their content on a standalone grid that included mesh would have to jump back and forth between viewers that can import/export xml files (Imprudence, Singularity) AND upload mesh (Firefox, and the prevous version of Kokua).

Well, I’ll have to see if tweaking debug settings does the trick, but so far no joy – I tried inputting Penny Patton’s camera settings, and managed finally to rotate the camera to look forward and not upward, but it still refuses to offset above the level of my ankles (it needs to be slightly above and behind my head, on one side or the other to conform with her common-sense view, build, and avatar height guidelines).

I really, really don’t want to do a clean install, but I may have to do it – I’ve been tinkering with offloading some graphics work to my nVdia card, and doing a clean install messes with that.

Back Inworld

So I’m more or less back inworld, sorta kinda, with less elbow pain than before already. Last night I attended an RFL event hosted by Holocluck Henly with some really great electroswing music (mostly from Europe) and then chatted happly with my friend Mistletoe, who had BIG EXCITING NEWS that she’ll get around to announcing in all good time.

Tonight I attended the regular Sunday night Krypton Radio event in Steelhead, this time in the new Steelhead City Welcome Center that Lunar has been working on (he’s rebuilt almost all of the Steelhead City sim, long story with a good ending).

It’s all good, getting back yet again, and I hope this time the arm pain won’t make me rather sit on the couch and watch “Chopped” and “Defiance.” I seem to spend more time inworld when all “my” shows are in hiatus out there in the Reality-Based World, but some RBW events have now concluded and I’ll have more weekend time, too.