Forum: Author Hangout

Okay, I didn't do this recently but I'm still 'healing' though I'll see the surgeon next week and get a proper assessment on my shoulder. What did I do I hear you ask? I tore the rotator cuff, and a few other 'bits'. Basically I've been in significant pain 24/7 for the last 3 months+.

I had originally though to use voice to text but I've not been able to get those systems to work at the moment, something to do with mic configs, but they work elsewhere. It's just in the voice to text systems that they won't work for me!!

My 'other' shoulder is caput too so I need to get it looked at and find out if it's just compensation for the other being 'out of action'. I've got a reasonably ergonomic layout but can't get all my heights 'just right' either something is too high or something else is too low.

Any advice? If I go the too low route I'll make the desk too low as I can raise the other things 'more easily'. Things could be worse I guess. I'm not in 'murica and I'm getting in to the specialist in well under a month without 'insurance' or an unmanageable bill.

Looking forward to 'ideas' for getting around 'pain' as I can't take pain killers without going to extraordinary extents. Basically Oxy is one of my few 'choices' unless I go out of the standard systems.

I understand!

I haven't had any satisfaction with "voice to type" programs either.

Elon Musk is looking for some Volunteers to test out Brain Implants perhaps...

I had a "mild" heart attack just before the Covid-19 Lockdowns. Not only was I in a higher risk category, I have government (VA: Veterans Administration) health care. Because the state of Washington remained on Lockdown until mid 2023; I had a Kafkaesque experience trying to get out of "Assisted Living" where I was in recovery after my MI.

I wasn't able to get back into an apartment until the Spring of 2023, and have not fully unpacked everything that was in storage. I am now trying to complete any story before I begin posting here.

One thing that has been beneficial is a larger monitor connected by a long HDMI cable, so my computer and monitor locations are not problematic. I have an external keyboard that is connected by a cable; it is larger and ergonomic, significantly easing typing (and can be at variable heights). Also a digital mouse.

So, I can adjust the level of the keyboard and mouse using a very small (and adjustable) desk-ette. I can even stand, or if I am ill recline, and still type / mouse.

USB or wireless keyboards are inexpensive, and they seem to make a greater variety of keyboards for older/disabled people.

Hopefully such an inexpensive solution will work for you.

Are you having trouble with the software portion of voice to text, or the hardware portion? If it's software, you may want to take a look at Talon Voice - it's a voice control platform for macos/windows/apparently some flavours of linux? The software is free (although not open-source, if that's something you have an ideological attachment to) and it's actively developed by a guy who uses talon himself to work and write code. If you pony up for an eye tracker, you can also do mouse control with your eyes, which can be handy.

I understand some people use a voice to text app on their phones so they can dictate on the go, then download the file to desktop for cleanup.

Hi. I've been there, had a rotator cuff tear and the associated surgery and after that both shoulders replaced (ball and joint reversed). I was always able to type, with the keyboard on a lower surface (like the old little tables for a manual typewriter - just a perfect height). I can say Ibuprofen can relieve severe pain, you need to take a lot of it, with food, and watch for side effects. You cannot take it if you are on a blood thinner. I was mostly on opioids with my first two surgeries and I recovered far better than after the surgery with a few opioids and ibuprofen. Not sure that was the cause though. Get a surgeon that has done a lot of these, surgical technique matters also, but I'm not qualified to have an opinion on what is best.

In jury is a lot different than injury. "A jury is a sworn body of people convened to hear evidence, make findings of fact, and render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England during the Middle Ages and are a hallmark of the English common law system. Wikipedia"