A combination of factors, which I can get into at another time (but which include a still-very sore wrist that I’ve had to wrestle with over the last several months, despite doctor’s orders, while trying to keep up with a helluva busy election season), has forced me to slow down a bit on this end over the last several days, while allowing time for a few more guest voices here in the bargain.
I thank you for your patience and understanding as I continue to tread water and do my best to chew well so much that I’ve bitten off over the last several years (much of which takes a while before it makes its way onto these pages) and offer an early heads-up that I am going to try to take a bit more down time — in hopes of allowing my wrist to heal a bit, my brain to heal a bit, my body to catch up with some rest, my family to actually see me for a minute or two, as well as a number of other well-worth-it super-secret projects which require some time and attention — over the next month or two (or even three if I can get away with it) during and after the holidays.
My hope is to bring on a few more guest contributors here to allow me some of that time. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to spend some much needed hours away from the blog in the bargain, though not immediately and certainly not indefinitedly. So, with much still on the plate, I’m still right here, and have much more to come (even today, on a number of important items, if I can catch up, with a TV taping scheduled for mid-afternoon to keep me further behind-schedule). But I just wanted to offer a quick status report, and explain why I’ve been a bit slower than I’d like in keeping up with a lot that continues to roll over the last several days in a number of places (AK, MN, and GA, to name just a few of them).
Hopefully, you haven’t much noticed. But either way, as mentioned, thanks again for your patience and understanding, and for your support over so many months and years. I’ll do my best to keep you all up to date on the above as things move forward, of course, and hope, in the meantime, you’ll keep The BRAD BLOG high your list of daily must-reads in the ever-growing blogosphere…
Dear Brad,
None of my business but as a huge fan who badly hurt my own right shoulder with obsessive computer use(and terrible mouse technique)and who wishes you healing and happiness, would it be possible to have someone act as a temporary nurse/secretary and take dictation for a while so you wouldn’t have to type? Would that be a way to continue some of your work without further aggravating your injury?
love,
Dave
Thanks, David. One of the best ways would be for me to not have to reply to such comments 😉 (I joke, of course.) But no, unfortunately, there’s a lot more than just typing I have to do. Including graphics work, a lot of click on webpages, responding to email, copy and pasting, etc. etc. Stuff that would be impossible to “dictate”, even if I could afford such a person to help out temporarily in that respect.
I’m hopeful that the wrist will heal if I can take some much-needed down time (from the computer anyway) and that whatever has been bothering it over the last several months isn’t too severe. We’ll see. I also expect that stress over these past many months has exacerbated things. So if I can find my way to getting some real rest — for the first time in god knows how long — that may go a long way as well.
Appreciate the thoughts, though, and I’ll be looking for new solutions if it gets worse, which thankfully it hasn’t. It just hasn’t gotten any better. 🙁
Dear Brad
I would like to ask you to let us help with this. I wwould be willing to type things for you. You cvan send recorded messages to me, and I can type them for you. I also have carpletunnell so I might not be the best for this, but, I am willing to help , if I can. You give out very important information. I would ask you to ask us for a little help. I am sure there are people out there like myself; that would be happy to help with the typeing. ty for all your great work,,,,,Scott
[ed note: Scott, what a sweet offer, but if he takes you up on it, I might have to shoot myself. :-P]
Peace, Health, and Restoration Bro…Thanks!
Ancient
Brad! What we need is for Bradblog to adopt a diary format so you can sit back and skim off the cream of our work and act as a gatekeeper when we threaten the status quo!
Or… we could all offer whatever help we can and wish Brad good health and a speedy recovery 😉
Yeah, Brad! I want to turn this into a Marxist Revolutionary blog! We can so totally handle everything while you go recover….
Honest. 😛
“I also expect that stress over these past many months has exacerbated things.”
Stress? You have stress? What on earth could you have been stressed over lately? 😉
You’ve done a magnificent job over the last SEVERAL years and deserve a good, restorative rest. The dragon’s are still out there and still need fighting but disabling yourself isn’t going to slay them any sooner. Just reining them in somewhat has been a major victory and you and a few others are primarily responsible for leading that battle.
Damn fine work Brad! Now rest up as much as possible before round two gets going full bore. Disabling yourself isn’t an option. Sit, rest, put on a few pounds, enjoy the victory and come back in top form ’cause you’ll be needed as one of the leaders of the movement you and a handfull of others built. Damn! What an acomplishment. I’m awed.
Thanks Brad, your site has been revelatory for me and I want you healthy and kicking ass in the future.
And I, for one, welcome our Marxist Revolutionary Overlords…
Clearly you’ve been stretched and the reporting end of the blog can sometimes seem to be an obstacle to the investigative end of the project. So now’s probably a good time to go “Brad-Lite” for a time and prioritize and maybe DELEGATE some of those tasks that we take for granted.
Best wishes and thanks for educating the public on these important issues.
I wonder if my blood pressure will go down a few points now?
Dear Brad,
Although I do not know your full story your situation is probably a likely scenerio that would illustrate what is wrong with the health care system. If you are like most you are ignorant of all the options of treatment. But then again you may be in another boat dealing with insurance which is a lenghty story that I can’t explain.
My suggestion, if you are not aware of them, is to see a chiropractor or osteopath. Osteopaths were like chiropractors once, so you want to try a real osteopath, find on who “manipulates”. If you would like I might be able to help you find a good chiropractor, maybe even a specialist who can get the job done real fast.
Next go online and look up, “The Stick”. Send for one and if you have a problem with it or need any advice email me.
Lastly if you’re a big stimulant person, start getting off the stuff. Too much coffee for instance creates a toxic backlog in your system that can really screw up everything.
Doctor means teacher; when was the last time a doctor taught you anything, really useful about your health. (Not “If you do that and it hurts, wellthen don’t do that”)
Best Regards..I’m from the health care field and I’m here to help.
Dear Brad…
…we’ve got your back. Relax!
Hi Brad,
I recommend a good accupuncturist for that carpel tunnel. Regarding your time off. Ironically, to write this, I am skipping out of DFA Night School that plays on my speaker phone. The subject of the class is how to close out. They say that last communication is as important as the first and that immediately after the election- two days minimum should be completely taken off- so get lost!
PS I circulated that Clint Curtis Story today to some folks so we are out here trying to get that into distribution- it was a wonderful production and a really scary creepy story. We will have to lead a movement in each state to get rid of all voting machines while shoring up checks and balances in the process.
Dear Brad,
I’m so sorry to hear you’re suffering! Impossible…Heroes are not supposed to fall victim to ordinary mortal woes. I wish I could steal whatever ails you & dump it on toads like Hannity & O’Reilly. If only.
Thanks for creating this awesome gathering place for truth & humor & rants & for everything you do! Get better!!!
Brad,
Unfortunately, I have experience with computer induced wrist injuries. Treatments that worked for me were: 1) ice cube massage, reduces inflammation while promoting circulation (healing), 2) ultrasound, 3) electrical stimulation, 4) exercises. Try to find a good physical therapist, hopefully one with a red light laser. Get well, as you are much appreciated.
Hey, maybe Kucinich can help you out. He is trying to free an elephant in an LA zoo.
[snip]
“Elephants are particularly vulnerable to foot and joint disease as well as mental disorders while in the zoo environment.” That’s where you were the the past four to five years right? 🙂
Kucinich fights for Elephant
Seriously, get rested and well. You deserve it!
Dear Brad (no need to answer 🙂 ,
I’d also like to add my very best wishes and offer of help. You are my favorite blogger and I appreciate all you do. Take good care and best of luck in dealing with the stress monster and in listening to what your body is telling you (and then following your body’s advice!)
But, seriously, if there is anything we can do to help keep the stories flowing — please do not hesitate to ask. Doing too much is (super)human…asking for help is divine. 😉
Wilburrr… has a wrist injury 2, but it isn’t from typing so much . . . (-:
Don’t know what I would’ve done without you this year, my cherished-gadfly-journalist-intrepid-warrior-friend. Do rest. We are all infinitely better off for your herculean efforts these last four, long, hellish years. No real way to tell you how you have impacted me personally, but LOTS of cold, hard evidence that points to how you have COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED THE LANDSCAPE OF ELECTION COVERAGE for the infinite better.
I am so proud of you people think we’re related.
Thank you for being my voice. No one could have represented this broken-hearted, American voter with more class, panache, and grace than you.
You are adored.
Wishing you the kind of deep REM sleep that floats you into the cosmos.
Thank you. All.
So as not to make anything worse, when not needed, I’ll reply directly only to the point made first above by ZapKitty (#5) to say that indeed I’ve been trying — and even working in the background — for years on trying to develop a “diary” type format to allow others to more easily post here. Haven’t had either the time to do it myself, however, nor the resources to hire someone to do it for me during that time. Has been quite frustrating. But still something I hope to accomplish, and may perhaps be something I can move closer towards during some “down time” over the next coupla, three months (that, and other needed upgrades here, are on the long list of “super-secret projects” referred to in the original article).
Oh, and I’ll reply to Scot at #3 as well, to say “sounds great!” (but only to help make Agent 99’s day 😉 )
Wilburrr… has very comfortable therapeutic wrist splints that he wears and swears by!
Brad, I’m so grateful to you for all you’ve done to bring us the news no one else would touch. You are one of my all-time heroes.
So sorry to hear you’re having such trouble with your wrist. I don’t know what kind of mouse you have – here’s what I use: Logitech Marble Mouse – Optical Trackball It made a world of difference to me in combating wrist pain. You can read the reviews at the site.
At this Link you can do different “tests” to determine where wrist pain is originating and how, specifically, to treat.
And finally, you might want to invest in voice recognition software i.e. Dragon Naturally Speaking – suggestion – pick up a better microphone, one with noise reduction.
Get some rest. It’s been a nightmare.
Gotta get away and escape into Real Life, Brad. Enjoy it.
BTW, what’s with the f’s on the front page being highlighted?
Wilburrr… Says the pièce de résistance so far was a masterly delivered painless cortisone shot.
Hey Brad,
Here are some other things you can try:
Vertical mouse (eliminates twisting your forearm when mousing)
Wacom tablet (use a pen instead of mouse)
Powerball (to exercise/strengthen wrist)
– Tom
Hey Brad – I know, it seems like a small thing, but at the very least you can stop typing apostrophes – I’ll take care of ’em for ya. You know, a keystroke here, a keystroke there. OK, enough of being facetious (and using all the vowels in order in a single word, something I couldn’t otherwise without b eing abstemious, which is against my very nature, but then there may well be other ways, as well as many, who knows, words that rhyme with “orange”). We all greatly appreciate your dedication to truth, justice, etc., and stand (well, OK, sit, in most cases) in awe of your stamina. Rest easy, knowing that you have done your work well in this stage of the quest, and that we all stand by to help you in any way we can in your unflagging search for the America that seems to have gotten lost along the way. Sorry to be the bearer of grim tidings, but the criminals won’t easily cede their ill-gotten gains, and far uglier battles lie ahead. OK – that’s it – my carpal tunnels are angrily plaguing me too – I harbor a secret suspicion that all carpal tunnels are repukelicans…
I once saw an Apple demo of a handicapped person’s mouse peripheral which actually is a headset not operated by the hand. I believe the manufacturer was in MA. I think the activation was some facial muscle flex motion, though at the demo I was in mid auditorium, so could not see what the demonstrator was doing. The apparatus looked like a lightweight miner’s light affixed over the top of the head, less than elegant, but very accurate in performing all computer mouse actions.
This election with the AK news, once again I was reminded of how beautiful the wilderness is in places our civilization has yet to morph into malls and cities, though if your hiatus were to take you north, it would be dark and winter there.
There is routine scope procedure treatment now for true carpal constriction problems, but some of the earliest and best hand doctors seemed to say the malady is best addressed simply by avoiding repetitive motion. I liked that doctorless approach best.
On the preventative side of the issue, if that is indeed the problem, would have been spending your early 30s loading tons of haybales, an exercise which tends to make the arms so strong a mere keyboard seems lightduty.
Another item to look into would be the new trainable speech recognition programs, or, simply becoming a media personality instead of a laboring typing journalist for a while. I am unsure whether attempting to wrestle a gator would be a true trial of a definitive cure, but if the vacation finds Brad in FL, he might give it a try on open mike night, right.
Stretching is important. Do so when you’re muscles are warm — makes it less painful.
Also, as has already been pointed out, acupuncture. Helped me.
I’d even go a step further and suggest Chinese medicine (it is weird and tastes terrible, but it works) and such supplements as reishi mushrooms (ling zhi) plus lots of leafy greens and even vegetable juices or vegetable-extract supplements.
[ed note: Oooooo, Socrates, you so clevah to get in here while everyone was too busy to bust you right away, but, you are banned for breaking the rules, and you are going to stay banned. –99]
Mental health days are important. Plus, if your wrist is injured, there’s always more radio!
Wilburrr … ~ I think Brad Friedman doesn’t get the copious recognition and credit of his unselfish patriotic achievement!
Get well soon.
Take whatever you need. We love it in bits and big doses.
Be well. Cheers.
Rob
Hi Brad,
I have worked for several speech technology companies that make products for people who need to cut down on their use of a keyboard. The technology has come a HUGE way over the years, and you should give it a look. There is a learning curve associated with doing editing via voice instead of keyboard similar to learning to use a wordprocessing program instead of writing out in pen/pencil and they typing. But if you speak very clearly and consistently, you can get amazing, almost perfect recognition. The people who have trouble with it are people who mumble a lot. Since you are a journalist who knows how to speak clearly for tv/radio, you would get 99% recognition accuracy, and you might even be able to generate text on a page faster via dictation than by keyboard. I find when I do it, that I mostly use the mouse to move where I’m dropping words into the document, and voice for most of the rest of it.
Brad,
I have read that you are an actor. don’t know how you feel about alternative medicine…but creative people usually are more open to it.
I have a friend whose carpel tunnel was healed with Kombucha Tea. It is a little tricky to make but once you do it a few times it is no big deal to make.Very cheap. Don’t know if you could google it and find carpel tunnel. But there are about a dozen things Kombucha is known to cure or help…this just happened with my friend as a wonderful side effect. Email me if you are interested.
Re. alternatives. Have you noticed that frequently movie stars and well known people get over cancer? (hint creative) Ted Kennedy’s son had cancer ..his leg from the knee down was removed. He was given a bad prognosis for life. He got over it with Esiac…an Indian remedy. I knew Ted would probably get over his brain tumor. His prognosis was also poor. Hasn’t he gone back to the Senate? Esiac. The medical community does not want US to know about it.
Amazalatin, Brad I think your due an we got your back!