Since Cru and Sapphira are off boinking somewhere else in the compound Chromie updates Lothar on the state of things. Lothar has no idea what is happening between the two but does Chromie know?
Looks like with the morning comes the journey back to the Eastern Kingdoms and to Stormwind. What sort of progress are Uther and Lora making in the Plaguelands? We'll find out soon enough when the story switches over to them shortly.
You might notice a new addition to the Recommended Comics section called Dead Heaven. Great illustrations and a dark story with fountains of blood. It's the sort of webcomic American McGee would have bookmarked in his web browser.
::UPDATE JUNE 24::
I'm sorry but the Thursday update won't be happening. There maybe not even be a Monday update. The reason is I cannot use my mouse much before my wrist begins to stiffen and I feel an aching numbness in my hand; early signs of carpal tunnel syndrome. Given the amount of mouse movement it requires to make the comic I simply can't spend hours creating a new page without the numb tingling turning into pain.
At the moment I can't afford a solution to relieve the pain in my wrist. Fearing doctor bills for CTS (and having no medical insurance to cover it) I'm halting production of the comic until I can find a comfortable solution. I was eager to finish up business in Winterspring and move onto the Lora and Uther storyline but that's going to have to wait.
It could be a bit before I have the cash so until then the comic is on hold. If you can spare anything please donate and help support the comic, the author and my wrist. I was excited to move the plot ahead to content I've been wanting to cover for months and I feel like I'm letting the readers down but I just can't risk causing serious damage and pain to myself.
Again I apologize for this but the comic will be on hold until a solution is reached.
P.S. Could anyone out there who has a mouse with an ergonomic or comfortable design give me feedback on their experience with it?
::UPDATE JUNE 29::
My thanks to everyone who has donated so far. Funds are still short but I hope to resume the comic by July 6th.
::UPDATE JULY 2::
Going to try and get an update done before Sunday but the comic probably won't resume it's Monday-Thursday updates until the 13th.
I use wrist stabilisators. I don't know if that is the correct name in english, I don't even know the german name for it. Its a wrist band with strong elastic bands in it that stabilizes my hand + wrist. I got the same problem as you but I feel no pain wearing these. Its awesome :> It really helps getting healtiy fast. It still takes months.
Well, I talked about a trackball mouse where you move with your thumb. I've got my whole right arm at rest while using it, and only the thumb moving means minimal strain on the carpal tunnel.
You might wonder that your thumb is not the most nimble buddy on your hand, but it's really quick! First half hour is a bit slow and awkward, after three days you're as good as you where with your mouse, and you'll still improve on precision and speed. After a month I put mouse accelaration to max and I can still hit a specific pixel zoomed out of a pic without trouble...
Now do you speak of the trackball mice you move with your thumb and your fingers lay normally or the kind where you roll it with your fingers and not just your thumb?
@Noc: Now a new desk would be nice. Expensive, but nice.
@bilbomsb: B-6? I should look into it.
@yarra: A trackball you say? I would like to be both faster and more precise in my mouse movements but I fear my clumsy hands wouldn't get used to rolling a ball around instead of pushing a mouse.
As bilbomsb says it, trackball. I do an awful lot of pointerpushing across the screen for fifteen years now, using a Logitech Trackman Wheel and its predecessor Trackman Marble. Takes some time to get used to, but after I was both faster and more precise than I was ever with a mouse. Plus you save some space on the desk, as the thing doesn't have to be moved around.
Another thing you might consider is using keyboard shortcuts with he left hand more extensively, maybe even get one of these gamer extensions to keyboards to have them more handy at your left hand.
As a long-time CTS sufferer, a trackball really helps, and so does hand exercises.
Another thing to try is daily supplement of Vitamin B-6. At the time I started taking B-6 back around 1990, the research I found said that it helped about 40 percent of CTS sufferers, about the same as the surgery. ymmv.
I don't really use any kind of padding, and my mouse is kind of old-school, but after about 7 years of being a computer nerd I've yet to get any kind of real pain or discomfort, so I hope that helps.
More important than your mouse, or mouse-pad, is your desk, and the relative angle your wrist is bent. If it's too extreme in either direction you can easily expect alot of discomfort after a long-term period, the easiest solution is to try different chairs that can adjust to maintain about a 38-52 degree wrist-angle while you're on the computer.
Can anyone who has had problems with wrist discomfort from their mouse and has switched to a vertical, trackball or other sort of ergonomic design give me some feedback on your personal experience with them?
Mineral at 2:52AM, June 25, 2009
I use wrist stabilisators. I don't know if that is the correct name in english, I don't even know the german name for it. Its a wrist band with strong elastic bands in it that stabilizes my hand + wrist. I got the same problem as you but I feel no pain wearing these. Its awesome :> It really helps getting healtiy fast. It still takes months.
yarra at 2:39AM, June 25, 2009
Well, I talked about a trackball mouse where you move with your thumb. I've got my whole right arm at rest while using it, and only the thumb moving means minimal strain on the carpal tunnel. You might wonder that your thumb is not the most nimble buddy on your hand, but it's really quick! First half hour is a bit slow and awkward, after three days you're as good as you where with your mouse, and you'll still improve on precision and speed. After a month I put mouse accelaration to max and I can still hit a specific pixel zoomed out of a pic without trouble...
cru at 12:44AM, June 25, 2009
Picture assistance would be of great help.
cru at 12:38AM, June 25, 2009
Now do you speak of the trackball mice you move with your thumb and your fingers lay normally or the kind where you roll it with your fingers and not just your thumb?
cru at 12:31AM, June 25, 2009
@Noc: Now a new desk would be nice. Expensive, but nice. @bilbomsb: B-6? I should look into it. @yarra: A trackball you say? I would like to be both faster and more precise in my mouse movements but I fear my clumsy hands wouldn't get used to rolling a ball around instead of pushing a mouse.
yarra at 11:37PM, June 24, 2009
As bilbomsb says it, trackball. I do an awful lot of pointerpushing across the screen for fifteen years now, using a Logitech Trackman Wheel and its predecessor Trackman Marble. Takes some time to get used to, but after I was both faster and more precise than I was ever with a mouse. Plus you save some space on the desk, as the thing doesn't have to be moved around. Another thing you might consider is using keyboard shortcuts with he left hand more extensively, maybe even get one of these gamer extensions to keyboards to have them more handy at your left hand.
Light_in_Darkness at 10:33PM, June 24, 2009
Ah the ol' classic avatar. I miss that :)
bilbomsb at 9:35PM, June 24, 2009
As a long-time CTS sufferer, a trackball really helps, and so does hand exercises. Another thing to try is daily supplement of Vitamin B-6. At the time I started taking B-6 back around 1990, the research I found said that it helped about 40 percent of CTS sufferers, about the same as the surgery. ymmv.
Noc at 4:47PM, June 24, 2009
I don't really use any kind of padding, and my mouse is kind of old-school, but after about 7 years of being a computer nerd I've yet to get any kind of real pain or discomfort, so I hope that helps.
Noc at 4:45PM, June 24, 2009
More important than your mouse, or mouse-pad, is your desk, and the relative angle your wrist is bent. If it's too extreme in either direction you can easily expect alot of discomfort after a long-term period, the easiest solution is to try different chairs that can adjust to maintain about a 38-52 degree wrist-angle while you're on the computer.
cru at 5:50AM, June 24, 2009
I've been looking at those trackball mice but I used one once many years ago and found it awkward to use.
cru at 5:47AM, June 24, 2009
Can anyone who has had problems with wrist discomfort from their mouse and has switched to a vertical, trackball or other sort of ergonomic design give me some feedback on your personal experience with them?
cru at 3:22AM, June 24, 2009
Important comic update in the comic comments for page 106.
cru at 2:31AM, June 24, 2009
The archive is down so I disabled the link.
anonymous at 2:06AM, June 24, 2009
For the perv that I am... Why can't I click on the Mature Content link? ....I really am one am I?
gOrger at 10:43AM, June 23, 2009
Awesome, as always.
Chaliss at 8:45PM, June 22, 2009
Awesome comic, as always, Can't wait to see Lora again.
Light_in_Darkness at 5:05PM, June 22, 2009
Cru you're new profile picture is something I would see if I was totally tripping.
Caitie at 4:41PM, June 22, 2009
Hmm...interesting
Anidem at 3:52PM, June 22, 2009
wow Cru, that is one acid trip of a avatar you got there. Is the 'other' black dragon Cromie mention referring to Onyxia?
cru at 1:14PM, June 22, 2009
@b_templar428: It's not so much thickening as it is congealing.
b_templar428 at 12:11PM, June 22, 2009
the plot thickens....
Light_in_Darkness at 11:04AM, June 22, 2009
Curse you Cru. I stayed up in the wee hours of the night to post first and my need of sleep has foiled me. CUUURSE YOOOOUUU CRRUUUUU!!
mattman52 at 10:42AM, June 22, 2009
Looks like you are gonna feature onyxia in the stormwind part
cyberdog at 10:14AM, June 22, 2009
Cool page. CyberDog out.