I cut my thumb last night when I was preparing dinner and I am having to use the wrong thumb for the space bar. I can't believe how slow that makes my typing so if I seem curt you know why. See how slow it is here.
I can't play the clarinet either for at least a week because of the bandage.
We didn't even get the dinner in the end because I burnt it while faffing around for plasters etc.
I'll be all healed up in time for Nano, though, so that's all right.
Showing posts with label typing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label typing. Show all posts
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The result of the Dvorak experiment
It took me six months to get up to 45 wpm with Dvorak which was much slower than I expected.
The layout was better than QWERTY in some ways: the positioning of 't' and 'h' next to each other works well so I never once typed 'teh'. On the other hand, I missed being able to type 'were' and 'are' and 'here' so easily and I hated the strain of having 's' on my right little finger together with 'l' and the shift key for 'I'. Although Dvorak is meant to be better for RSI my finger got quite sore at times. Plus it's a nuisance faffing around changing the keyboard set-up for different users. So I decided that Dvorak is not right for me.
My QWERTY speed had dropped to 15 wpm but now, less than a fortnight later, I'm back up to 48 wpm.
I don't know if Dvorak is inherently hard to learn, or if I'm too wedded to QWERTY. Maybe it's because I get brain fog from my thyroid problem. I don't know.
I'm not sure if I regret the experiment or not. At least this way I won't wonder about it and now neither will you: I did the experiment so you don't need to. No need to thank me!
(For a completely different view of the attractions of Dvorak, see Holly Lisle.)
The layout was better than QWERTY in some ways: the positioning of 't' and 'h' next to each other works well so I never once typed 'teh'. On the other hand, I missed being able to type 'were' and 'are' and 'here' so easily and I hated the strain of having 's' on my right little finger together with 'l' and the shift key for 'I'. Although Dvorak is meant to be better for RSI my finger got quite sore at times. Plus it's a nuisance faffing around changing the keyboard set-up for different users. So I decided that Dvorak is not right for me.
My QWERTY speed had dropped to 15 wpm but now, less than a fortnight later, I'm back up to 48 wpm.
I don't know if Dvorak is inherently hard to learn, or if I'm too wedded to QWERTY. Maybe it's because I get brain fog from my thyroid problem. I don't know.
I'm not sure if I regret the experiment or not. At least this way I won't wonder about it and now neither will you: I did the experiment so you don't need to. No need to thank me!
(For a completely different view of the attractions of Dvorak, see Holly Lisle.)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Typing
Freddie commented on her blog:
Well, it is and it isn't. I hadn't really got the hang of Dvorak anyway but now I've completely lost all my ability with QWERTY so I'm stuck with it. I can type fairly accurately if I keep my eyes closed but that's not really practical so I'm using the backspace key a lot.
I think I'll get the hang of it eventually but I did think I'd be able to go back at any time. Now I know it's not that simple. I wonder if this was a really bad idea.
I'll bet it's especially difficult using Dvorak after a break.
Well, it is and it isn't. I hadn't really got the hang of Dvorak anyway but now I've completely lost all my ability with QWERTY so I'm stuck with it. I can type fairly accurately if I keep my eyes closed but that's not really practical so I'm using the backspace key a lot.
I think I'll get the hang of it eventually but I did think I'd be able to go back at any time. Now I know it's not that simple. I wonder if this was a really bad idea.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Something completely different
I was at a country fair today and met one of the inventors of the Ledal, which is the most amazing invention to make cycling safer. I have so often nearly hit invisible cyclists when I'm driving after dark that I got really excited and had to post it here.
In other news, I am still working on acquiring Dvorak skills and progress is still slow.
In other news, I am still working on acquiring Dvorak skills and progress is still slow.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Speed Trials
Dvorak update: I have reached 18 wpm with only 1.1% errors. Only 22wpm to go and I'll be back where I was.
It is still painfully slow and inaccurate.
It is still painfully slow and inaccurate.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Progress report
It's now day 4 of Dvorak. I've read that you can be back up to speed in a month but that seems optimistic at the moment.
I know where all the keys are without looking and if I am willing to type at the rate of 10 words a minute I don't make too many mistakes. I can type "the" quickly and accurately every time.
Everything else is SLOW and I'm grateful for the backspace key. I confuse "n" and "t", and "v" and "w" and I often try to type as if the keyboard was QWERTY. My little finger on my right hand seems to be getting more of a workout than usual and I don't much like that.
Will I persevere? All I can say is that I'm not ready to give up yet.
I know where all the keys are without looking and if I am willing to type at the rate of 10 words a minute I don't make too many mistakes. I can type "the" quickly and accurately every time.
Everything else is SLOW and I'm grateful for the backspace key. I confuse "n" and "t", and "v" and "w" and I often try to type as if the keyboard was QWERTY. My little finger on my right hand seems to be getting more of a workout than usual and I don't much like that.
Will I persevere? All I can say is that I'm not ready to give up yet.
