As I’ve explained to a host of doctors and physical therapists over the years, my desktop work station really is ergonomic. Like, I’ve measured with a ruler and a protractor (seriously – my son marked the angles of my arm at the elbow on paper, and I borrowed his school protractor to measure) and had the numbers assessed. I can work here quite comfortably for a fairly solid chunk of time (solid for me. Your mileage will vary). Go me! So now… in the words of the song from ‘Dick Tracy’… I want more!

I’d really like to be able to take this show on the road. To coffee shops, to friends’ houses, etc, and be able to get solid amounts of work done. I have a rather elderly laptop, and a spare plug-in ergonomic keyboard that I can use, but it’s a weird lot of luggage to tote about. It’s not a ‘oh, look, I’m early to this appointment maybe I’ll pop into the coffee shop’ kind of set up. The keyboard alone is bigger than most laptops.

This is significantly better than not being able to write at ALL, which is a possibility that I’ve looked down the barrel of more than once. It’s a big old caliber barrel, too. I still have days where I don’t consider myself able to drive safely. These days usually coincide with a lot of whining and self-pity. It’s just not pretty.

Solution the First – I’m only able to write on computer at home.

Solution the Second – I’ve found ergonomic travel keyboards (Goldtouch makes it, and they have a travel laptop stand also)… which at least breaks down into smaller parts that can all go in one backpack. This is not an inexpensive solution, but I’m going to try a similar keyboard this weekend. That’s what birthdays and Christmas (/Yule/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah) are for, right?

Solution the Third – Well, heck. I don’t have a third solution. Do any of you have a third option I haven’t considered?

[edited for a heck of a lotta hecks!]

Update!  Sadly, solution the second doesn’t work out, as it has no ‘palm rest’, and I need that feature to avoid ‘sharps’ in my elbows.

Tags: arms, netbook, travel, writing

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