status update

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything. I’ve been working some long hours lately. We finally launched Pirates last week. It was a good night. The energy on launch night was great. We had some beers, the champagne flowed, it was a good night. Then I went back to my desk and worked for another few hours until 2am.

I got an ergonomic keyboard at work the other day. I figure that I type a lot and I type pretty hard and that both of those things mean that I will probably end up with carpal tunnel in some form or another, so I thought this would be a good first step toward prevention. I got a microsoft natural 4000 wired ergonomics keyboard. At first, I hated it. It felt awkward and the key presses felt sticky, but new keyboards always feel sticky for the first week or so. I typed a good 4 days on it before typing on a regular keyboard again (due to working 15+ hour days at work). I must say that after typing on an ergonomic keyboard, I dislike typing on a regular keyboard. The hand position feels awkward and cramped. I actually have to slow down to type correctly on a regular keyboard. I’d say I type a good 5 wpm faster on the ergonomic keyboard….it’s a very noticeable difference. The other good thing about the ergonomic keyboard is that it forces me to use the correct fingers to reach for keys. For example, I was in the bad habit of typing a 5 with my right hand. Since the keyboard is split in the middle and I can’t reach it with my right hand, I am forced to use the correct finger to press that key.

I will be getting an ergonomic keyboard for home now. Probably the same model as the one I have at work. The only thing that could make the one I have at work better is if microsoft made a bluetooth version of it. I love having the bluetooth capability for when friends come over. I simply use the computer to stream mp3’s to the stereo and move randomly through the playlist using my keyboard which I can drag to all corners of the house due to the 30ft range of bluetooth. What I’ll probably end up doing is leaving both keyboards connected and using the bluetooth one when guests come over or for when someone who isn’t comfortable with an ergonomic keyboard wants to use my computer.