HikeArizona.COM

Every now and then I'm in awe that I can type period. It gets a little spooky when you can type faster than you can think. Admittingly I took three years of typing cause it was an easy A and the female/male ratio was definitely favorable Looking back wish I wouldn't have cheated through numbers. I'm better than maybe ten-twenty years ago but they slow me down. Also somehow picked up a bad habit of only using the left shift key. Get's a little awkward spitting out capital QAZ.

Our typing class had actual type writers not computers. I recall getting really frustrated on making a single mistake. In the third year of typing we jumped into the future with electric typewriters. They seemed cool at the time. Minus the fact you had to wait for them to warm up. Talk about a slow processor. Believe sign language was faster than the old bit to bit processors.

Anyhow, not looking for a response. I just get fascinated in the little things. Realize I could easily google typing and find out why the key board is laid out like it is but... I'm really more fascinated with how the mind works and this is only the tip of the iceberg. You actually get a feel for blind people. Without those tiny numbs on the F & J you'd be lost.

On steep curvy roads

In response to joe bartels:
then you add the heal-toe action

I had not realized I only used the left shift key until Joe brought up the issue. Thanks for giving me one more thing to think about!

I think I'll stick with typing on a computer, rather than flying a helicopter. At least, when a computer crashes you won't die, at least, not literally! ;)

Not using the left shift key? What do you use?

I took a typing tutor class in the past couple years when I was doing an online transcription course. It was very helpful. I used to have a very old computer that had a typing tutor software installed on it, too, which I used to practice with occasionally. However, although my numbers have improved, I still often use the wrong fingers to type them, and I have to look at the keyboard. Ugh. I hate having to look at the keyboard.

Do you mean like hiking the lessor used trails in the Superstitions and wishing later that you would have had the opportunity to at least occasionally look up and see the country that you were hiking through? ;)

Well, Supes guy, since you actually want to draw the conversation toward HIKING it reminds me of something that happened one time:

I had gone to climb Baldy with some SAHC people--there must have been 15 or 20 of them, and the leader divided us up into groups and put me in charge of the "fast" group. And we were pretty fast, although I don't recollect the time. And I noticed, as we passed the "slow" group, how many of those folks were looking at the ground, picking their way along the easy, wide trail.

When the hike was over, someone asked us what our time was, so I told him. Then this woman from the slow group said, in a tone of voice utterly DRIPPING with scorn: "Oh, well, WE actually SAW something, because WE didn't go so fast! It's NOT a RACE after ALL."

What was there to say to that? All those people were doing was looking at the ground, so they would have had to actually STOP HIKING to see anything. I almost managed to bite my tongue, although I'm sure I mentioned the herd of elk and the bald eagle we saw (which she didn't see), etc.

I have nothing against slow hikers--at my age, I am probably going to BE one pretty soon, in fact. But don't frickin' be telling me what I see or don't see! I don't look at the ground all that much when I hike on trail, I just glance ahead once in awhile. Off trail, very rough trail, ok, I do look more. I don't look at the keyboard that much when I type, either.