All of our possibilities . . .

[doodlemaier]

. . . truly are realized in conversation.

Mad props to kafrin67 for the conversation we had last night wherein I admitted that I can't type (I can hunt'n peck like a mother fucker, but no touch type). "Why not?", says she, "it's so simple!"

A long story short: Just never practiced, that's all. But the effect that this has had, which she doesn't even realize, is that I think I have a huge fear built up around going back to finish my education because I can't touch type! Thanks again, Kid, for leading me to this conclusion and leaving me there to figure it out on my own, rather than handing it to me.

Now, this begs the eternal question: What am I going to do about this?

Comments

[lil-psy.livejournal.com]

Gary learned to type using a computer software program. If you would like I could ask him if you could borrow it. I think you will like it, and you could learn on your own. It comes slow at first then it gets really easy. Soon you will be typing like a pro :) No more issues :)

Espanol will have to wait . . .

[deansavatar.livejournal.com]

I already have an application I like loaded on the dumb-box and ready to go . . .

I just never made the connection, that's what (I hope) matters.

[ferragus.livejournal.com]

I took a course in hi school (the summer before actually) but it didn't take with me.

Finally about 8 yrs later, I got a Microsloth Natural keyboard (one of the bent ones with the keys seperated) and as a result it finally clicked. With the ergo keyboards, it's harder to cheat and hit keys with the wrong fingers. It's much easier to just put your hands where they are supposed to be and then let it happen.

yeah there's some slippage when I go back to a normal keyboard, and I also no greatly perfer the ergos to the normal ones, but (knock on wood) no carpal tunnel yet, so I'm thinking that's a good thing.

BTW, I know a guy that used to run online scenerio's for games without any macro or cheats, he wrote it out on paper, then typed it in live. and he only used two fingers!

He was typing about 75 WPM as near as I could tell.

good luck! and HTH

[deansavatar.livejournal.com]

That's over 35 WPM per finger! Yeah man, I don't want to be that guy for the next (at least) 2 years.

I'm twice as useless on those ergo-keyboards that you described, but I should . . .

I can . . .

(but not without looking at the keyboard)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_kevinski_/]

You've been keeping this journal, IM'ing people, and writing e-mails since the late 90's and you think you can't type?

C'mon Dean! You can type just fine.

I'm no speed demon.. But I can maintain a good 30-40 wpm. I got that far just by using the computer all the time. Sure I look at the keyboard. Sure it's a lot slower than honest-to-goodness touch typing. But it serves me just fine.

Immersion learning Dean. If you live in another country, you're going to pick up on the language, even if you never take a single lesson. You might not speak it terribly well, but you'll speak it well enough to get yourself by. If eloquence is an issue for you, then by all means, practice practice practice at those lessons.

I'll bet you type plenty fast enough to comfortably generate the kind of material college requires. I'll bet you're even faster than a lot of other people there. :)

[deansavatar.livejournal.com]

Seriously . . . I'm doing some very typing-intensive stuff as we speak for work and the looking up and down is making me a little sea sick. And the time it takes me to go back and correct mistakes is killing my production.

K-dawg and I were talking about this last night, and she says to me as she mimes the keyboard with her head cocked to one side, "You don't know how many papers I've written in this position" - and it all became very clear to me, in that odd way that the solutions to nagging problems suddenly come into focus.

I've made great strides through meditation in overcoming my aversion to sitting in a classroom and being lectured to, and with allowing my mind to wander in general (although I'll never be a classroom learner). Getting past the aversion to research is another problem; it's a matter of finding enough sources to do the bulk of the reading and then locking myself away from distractions with them until it's done, even if it takes days - that simple. I once fleshed out a research paper by hand in the back seat of debgurl's car while it poured rain outside and she was at work: But not until after I sat there and stared at it for three hours telling myself I wasn't going to do at all.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_kevinski_/]

Can't argue that real touch typing isn't superior to the home schooled method. You can learn to play guitar and never learn to read music, but it makes you a better musician if you bother to learn.

I don't really even look at the screen anymore. Oddly enough, even though I'm looking at the keyboard, I'm not looking at the keys. It's just a strange habit now.

I can dig the research problem. I haven't gotten any better at getting homework done now than I ever did in high school. If anything, I've gotten a lot worse.

Nothing wrong with a few rounds with Mavis Beacon. A little practice, practice, practice couldn't hurt you at all. I say go for it!

[dontshootthecat.livejournal.com]

So, I was looking at this Spongebob Squarepants Learn to Type cd-rom for lil' d. Maybe I should get it, and you two can share?

Little tip that I found helpful (and I type pretty damn fast), it to just learn one finger range at a time. For example, the index finger home keys are j and f, and they reach to ... oh hell, that's what I get for typing with a buzz. Diarrhea of the fingers.

By the way, I'm learning a new program for work. I can't remember (rasp bomb) what the hell it means, but it's called GUI (gooey). Anyway, this will be a great opportunity for me because they'll use me to train other employees. I'm looking forward to that, because it will keep me in "the powers that be" thoughts if a training position comes open. Oh, and a funny thing - Brian's wife's cube is right in front of his office, so she can see and hear everything he does. Bet he loves that!