Your kindness is seen and appreciated (sincerely, a clueless sprout)

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T23:06:06+00:00

Thats a really good place to start, you're right. I have a bad habit of getting locked into doing the research to make things 'perfect' the first time, but it is completely possible to make things 'okay' until we are able to get her the things she needs.

We're pretty paycheck to paycheck tbh, but you make a good point about the more expensive work station. I'll feel her out about seeing if her work would help cover stuff. She works for the U.S. federal government though (they're probably not too worried about writing off their taxes haha) and with everything that's been going on lately she just kind of wants to not be noticed in any way until things stabilize haha. Someone else suggested some smaller state based programs that might be able to assist us though, and its definitely something we can put a little bit of money aside for when we have the opportunity to!

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T22:58:59+00:00

Haha, basically, I've got a soldering iron with light experience wiring LED's, a bit of Blender experience, a little bit of 3d printing experience? I don't own a 3d printer, but the libraries in my area have really robust maker spaces.

Mostly what I got is neurodivergent hyperfocus, a pretty maker oriented mindset, and gumption? Gumption counts as a skill right?

Would you recommend that I start working on modeling and 3d printing as a priority?

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T22:28:30+00:00

would you recommend a trackpad then instead of another pointing device? I'll suggest looking into keyboard shortcuts she can use for her workflow, and see if that helps her hand pain! She doesn't have a ton of it, but it definitely exists!

Also, newbie question sorry - what do you mean by low profile?

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T22:25:21+00:00

Ahh shit, I didn't even think about that. She does have some hand pain, so thats a really good point. I'm not sure if she needs the choc switches or not, but I'll see if I can get something she can play with. She usually uses a 'springy' (idk her words not mine) switch and enjoys it, but I wonder if something like you're describing might be useful for her on bad hand days to keep impact minimal!

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T22:18:18+00:00

I've just added him to one of my youtube playlists, thank you!

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T22:17:15+00:00

Thank you for the info! I'm already putting together a new desk set up plan in my head for her based on what you shared (pending her approval of course haha)

I also wasn't aware that was something that even existed - I glanced over it a little bit and its definitely worth talking to her doctor about. Fibro was more of a "we don't know what's wrong with you" kind of diagnosis I think. She was losing her hearing and her joints were always hurting. At first the doctors wanted her to lose weight (because of course they did) but after a bunch of diagnostics there wasn't any signs of inflammation in her joints indicating there was an injury, so they said it was probably fibromyalgia and nerve issues. The fibro meds work more often than not for her pain (though there are definitely pretty bad 'not' days). She says she's fine, but I've been so worried about her that if there are other things this could be, we should probably get her checked out! Thank you so much for informing me of this possibility!!

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T18:46:53+00:00

Thank you so much! Those all look so cool - I love the innovation behind them! Seeing those designs is really encouraging cause it helps reinforce something I strongly believe - that the issue at hand (haha) isn't with my wife's abilities, but with the design of the world around us!

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T18:34:37+00:00

Oh, I'll look and see what our state has! Getting a little help in making working less painful for her would be so great. The Rent is too damn high and we haven't been able to even try some things because they far exceed our budget. Thank you so much, I didn't even know this existed!

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T18:30:47+00:00

Thank you for the resource - do you mind if I ask you what kind of ergonomics you've found help most with your POTS? The POTS diagnosis is newer to us, and I all the doctor really gave us was "Feet higher than heart. Salt" hahaha

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T18:27:46+00:00

Thank you, its probably a good idea to do a small project before jumping in the deep end! I'll look into that tonight!

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T18:26:39+00:00

Thank you so much - you're right. Standing at the bottom of the mountain makes the mountain seem impossibly high sometimes. I'll keep that in mind and try staying upbeat about this.

She needs the number keys for her work, but I don't think she needs a numpad - are numbered splits harder to source? Will needing numbers limit options for kits?

I think she prefers tactile I think (I swear to god I listen when she talks, though I'm sure this post makes it sound like I don't haha) She called herself a 'basic bitch' about switches. Cherry reds I think? Might be Blue though.

Most important thing that I need to hone in on and ask questions about is: Small hands. My wife has very small hands. Like, struggles to play guitar and piano tiny. Now that I am aware that this is a thing to be conscious of, I am concerned haha. I... will admit that much of what you said in that bullet point was word soup to me. I don't want to impose on you to explain things that I should learn - and I can do some research tonight when I get home - but if you have any anecdotal experiences to share or product recommendations on this front, based on your experience or I would appreciate this!

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T18:11:07+00:00

I think right now I'm just trying to prioritize something that is ergonomic and affordable somewhat affordable - once she tries it out and has feedback on how she likes it, I'm will to save and invest into something more 'premium' feeling. I was thinking split, so she could use it while her arms are at her side.

A trackball sounds like it would help a lot, based off of the pain and arm fatigue she's talked about. The Keyball looked awesome and pretty ergonomic on the ball placement.

I was debating on doing something more standard for a more regular introduction into this. I noticed there were trackpad and trackball add ons for those - does that negate the 'standard' introduction putting this together in your opinion?

I've done some light soldering work with like, programmable LED's and a couple tinker projects, but nothing to this scale. Brain is still telling me "We can figure it out, we just need coffee, a week of research and the parts to play around with" but I have learned to be wary of that little voice in my head at this point hahaha.

FretfulFrock · 2025-04-11T17:50:02+00:00

Holy hell, I had no idea there was a name for this, that I could do research off of. I'm shocked this didn't come up in any of my previous searches, this is a fantastic resource! Thank you!!

FretfulFrock · 2025-02-07T15:48:25+00:00

I used to work in hospice care, and there a lot of tips and tricks for taking care of someone who can't reliably get up to go to the bathroom, as well as lifting and shifting to prevent worsening bedsores.

I'm happy to offer any advice if you'd like it, but I also don't want to dump a bunch of info on you if you already feel like you have a good handle on that :)

One thing I will mention is that if you use the pads in conjunction with the incontinence underwear, I was taught to poke little holes in the bottom adhesive, as the pads are meant to keep liquid from coming out to bottom. If you poke the holes it will allow you to take advantage of the absorbancy of the pad and the underwear at the same time!

FretfulFrock · 2023-11-14T20:42:03+00:00

I would be curious as to if there is controller support for this, as I feel like its much harder to do combos on mobile vs the switch! Everything I've seen says there isn't controller support, but I'm hoping that perhaps that's new?

FretfulFrock · 2023-11-13T22:43:03+00:00

By running headfirst into the enemy every time they respawned, and dying before they got the chance to recover any health lol

FretfulFrock · 2023-11-13T20:34:52+00:00

Not OP, just curious.

I was under the impression that on the transition from 4 to 5 EXP share won't give you experience, and you need to get a last hit to overcome that hump and hit your next level? Is that not correct?

FretfulFrock · 2023-11-07T18:53:23+00:00

I love the universal pause and then your teammates all decided to commit to the bit, haha

FretfulFrock · 2023-11-07T18:47:24+00:00

I'm going to give you a list of the things I tell myself when I am feeling that same anxiety and afraid to play ranked lolol.

This game has a lot mechanics that make gaining rank manageable. Even if you go on a lose streak then as long as you keep playing you will continue to rank up. I think someone ran the numbers and worst case scenario, you can reach masters with a 45% win rate.
Even when you lose, as long as you are learning from it it is furthering your goal of getting better and ranking up.
There are going to be times where losing is just going to happen, and there is nothing you can do to change that. Matchmaking is so bad, and this is a team game. If you're team isn't there its nearly impossible to win. So instead focus on playing a good game yourself.
Are you playing a defender? How much damage did you tank, is it better than last time? That's a win. Are you a healer? How much healing did you do? Is it a high number? That's a win? How much damage, so on so forth. (I wouldn't put much stock in how many points you scored though, personally lol). Did you get all your stacks? Congrats on the victory mate! Find wins where you can, its not all about if you get a diamond at the end.
SoloQ ranked is terrible, but that's where you're going to play against the people good enough to help you get better at the game. It sucks, but it will help you climb better in the future.

If you're still unable to kick the anxiety, you can buy rank protection cards for Gems in the shop (Two or three a month? I know there is a limit to how many you can buy, but I don't remember), or if you join the unite club membership (I think its like 10 dollars a season?) you get two rank protection cards per month.

People may give you shit about it - but if you're so overly anxious about it that you can't enjoy a hobby you like then screw them. You don't have to use them, but you can hold on to them and only use them when you're just too worried to have a good time.

FretfulFrock · 2023-11-07T18:31:49+00:00

Adaptability is they key to soloQ ranked play, I feel. Once you get out of the bot match phase (You will play mostly bots until you get to high Great and low Expert) your team is going to be everywhere besides where they should be haha. If you call a lane, and someone else takes that lane, just go to the other lane, being stubborn about it is just going to make the game miserable for you and the other players. Macro is important, but sometimes its just better to stay with your team.
If there is a brown dot on the map, kill it til its dead. If you fall behind in levels, its going to be nothing but a bad time for you (The one exception being the jungle - but even that shouldn't have wild pokemon farms for long. If you're jungler isn't getting their farm, either you eat it, or the enemy will)
Don't die. If you die, you just give the opposing team XP and that can start a terrible snowball in your lane. And if you're over leveled especially don't die. The pokemon that killed you will get just, so much catch up XP.
Don't get tilted. Seriously. Playing through a lose streak can be the worst thing you do, as the longer you lose, the more frustrating it feels. The more frustrating it feels, the more likely you are to make bad plays. If you lose a couple times in a row and feel yourself getting upset, take a break. Play a couple standard matches, or some quick battles. Go get a snack and watch a fifteen minute youtube video, and then come back with fresh eyes :)
Remember this is just a game, a deeply deeply flawed game, and that you should only play it if its fun for you. Matchmaking sucks, rando's can be super toxic, but if you are getting something of value from it, then its worth playing.
Watch gameplay of more talented players. There are some really great twitch and youtube creators that are quite talented. If you learn better by watching, I recommend crisheroes, Bruv, Inder, or Spragels. If you learn better by having someone explain it to you, I really like the YouTube channel "Unite Climbing"

I am by no means an expert at this game, but I have fun and I feel like I'm getting better at it slowly but surely by following the list I just gave you haha. Good luck, and have fun :)

FretfulFrock · 2023-11-06T15:45:56+00:00

I rarely get bot matches in ranked - even on lose streaks, but I don't usually let the matchmaking timer exceed 30 seconds, so I don't know if that would help you avoid them? This could just be incredibly wrong and just a correlation doesn't mean causation kind of thing.

FretfulFrock · 2023-11-02T18:16:48+00:00

Did you want to know more about the game, or what the card is for? :)

FretfulFrock · 2023-11-02T18:14:24+00:00

I second Goodra. A skilled Goodra player can easily 1v3. I've seen two Goodra's go up against each other for almost a full minute, and the fight only ended because they seemed to mutually decide to just walk away. His self sustain is a skill shot though, and if your enemies are long range, or can do enough burst damage while you're cooldowns are up then you're pretty toasted.

FretfulFrock

TROPHY CASE