June 27, 2025
Keeping tech free
We were hoping that we wouldn’t need to update you on Ken Starks’ condition again until either we heard from him or he’s released from the hospital. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case. When we heard from Ed Matthews this afternoon, we learned that Ken’s suffered a minor setback in his recovery, with the keyword being “minor.”
Still, a setback is a setback.
We’ve received another update from Ed Matthews on Ken Starks condition as he recovers from the serious but routine surgery he underwent nearly a week ago. It’s all good. Maybe good enough that the next update we get will be coming from ol’ Ken himself. We’ll keep our fingers crossed on that.
I talked with Diane this (Tuesday) morning. She said that Ken was doing better yesterday and his color and strength are improving. He was moved out of ICU to a regular room, which makes it more convenient for her to see him. He was sitting in a chair when she got there, though he obviously didn’t get there by himself and was tired in a big way.
This morning, Ken Stark’s friend Ed Matthews posted an update on Ken’s condition in the comments to our first update post surgery, which we’re copying here to make it easier to find. It’s pretty much all good news, which is…well, good news.
Editor’s note: As Ken Starks takes time to heal from his surgery, FOSS Force will run “The Best of Ken Starks” on Tuesday’s in his absence. These will feature some of the best articles from his Blog of HeliOS.
Most of you know already that my fellow FOSS Force correspondent — and my good friend — Ken Starks went under the surgical knife this week, as fellow FOSS Forcer Christine Hall reported yesterday. The short version of this story is that Ken’s surgery was successful — as successful as having your larynx and lymph nodes removed can be — and he is resting well in the intensive care unit.
My appeal is this: After reading Ken’s missives above, for those who are well-versed in text-to-speech software, I hope you can provide insights for options for Ken going forward. Go ahead and leave them in the comments below.
And Ken: Get well, soon. The Astros are making some moves in the free-agent market, and if you’re well enough in mid-May, the two-game Giants-Astros series at Minute Maid is on me.
As many of you know, my friend and irrepressible FOSS Force writer Ken Starks has been waiting for a date with his surgeon for the last month or so. He had his surgery today and so far the news is good. I just received the good news from Ken’s friend Ed Matthews, who also posted the contents of the email he sent me in the comments section of Ken’s latest article on FOSS Force.
According to Ed:
9:00 PM. Diane called me and said the surgery went essentially as expected. I believe she said the surgery was “over” about 4:30 and that he didn’t wake up in the recovery room. He is still doing heavy medication (Diane says he’s probably chasing young cowgirls in his dreams) and she was pleased he opened his eyes for a moment when they let her in to see him.
He will be going to Intensive Care in a little while and go to a room sometime Thursday.
Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux
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