use Perl

• Too much use Perl; entries? (Score:1)

  by ambs (3914)

  Maybe this is caused by too many Use Perl; entries? Now, seriously, try doing some gymnastics off-keyboard. Also, try not to work too much in laptops. The small keyboards don't help.
  • Re:Too much use Perl; entries? (Score:1)

    by cog (4665)

    But all I have is a laptop! :-)
    • Re:Too much use Perl; entries? (Score:1)

      by ambs (3914)

      An external keyboard is not much money.
      • Re:Too much use Perl; entries? (Score:1)

        by cog (4665)

        I see your point... I don't know how I could fit a keyboard in my laptop's bag... but I do see your point...
        • Re:Too much use Perl; entries? (Score:2)

          by nicholas (3034)

          How many places do you use your laptop for long periods? Maybe buy(*) each a keyboard?

          * for some value of buy, such as "beg, borrow or steal"
          • Re:Too much use Perl; entries? (Score:1)

            by cog (4665)

            Hum... that's a nice idea... :-)

            I'll give it a try.

            perl -e 'print (qw/beg borrow steal/[rand 3])'
        • Re:Too much use Perl; entries? (Score:1)

          by dmarner (265)

          I used to carry a Happy Hacking Keyboard [yahoo.com] in my bag. It is much smaller than a full-size keyboard, but it got that way by reducing keycount rather than keysize. My new PowerBook has a much nicer keyboard than my old laptop, so I use it at home now. It has all the alphanumeric and puncuation keys, plus alt, command, control and escape; every key you need for emacs or vi. On the rare occasions I needed to hit "Scroll Lock" or the like, I would just reach up to the laptop's built in keyboard.

          I think it has a

          --
          s/q/o/g to mail
  • Re:Too much use Perl; entries? (Score:2)

    by Juerd (1796)

    If your laptop has a good keyboard, typing on it should not be any worse than typing on a normal keyboard. However, if the keys are smaller than normal or if they don't "feel right", get an external keyboard for using it any longer than a few minutes. And consider getting another laptop, and next time don't just look at the specs, but **TRY** a used model first, for at least a day.
    
    However, because laptop screens are not detachable and the screen should be located much higher, you should get at least either
• is this RSI? (Score:1)

  by Zed (5337)

  Yes, it's RSI. It's your body's way of saying you need to be doing some things differently. Here's an article [speculations.com] I wrote on it.

  And you can't win an argument with your body, 'cause it holds all the trump cards. You can say "but I only have a laptop"... and it can up the pain. You can say "but I can't fit a full-size keyboard in my bag"... and it can up the pain.

  BTW, a laptop's small keyboard is probably only part of the issue. Most people end up using a laptop in a hunched-over position with their head hang
• I think so too. (Score:2)

  by htoug (771)

  It sounds as if your body is giving you the first warning.

  Heed the warning and take care of your wrists (and elbows).

  A program like WorkRave (http://www.workrave.org/) that prompts you to take breaks from all that typing could be of help to you. I find that my arm hurts much less after I installed that "damned bit of nagware", that gets me to hold 30 seconds pause every 5 minutes. Give it a try, it might help you.
• RSI (Score:2)

  by TorgoX (1933)

  I avoided certain RSI-disaster a few years ago by switching to Dvorak [interglacial.com] and a split keyboard. It was like learning to type all over again, except this time I did it right.
• Wow... (Score:1)

  by cog (4665)

  I'm getting very interesting advices here... I'm glad I brought the subject up :-)
  
  So far, I guess I'll be making some pauses, try to change to Dvorak to see how it goes, maybe get a bigger keyboard at home and another at work, and probably also start using the caps lock as an extra control key (I don't use caps lock anyway...)
  
  Let's see... what else am I forgetting?
  • Re:Wow... (Score:1)

    by Zed (5337)

    Reconfigure all your software so you don't need so many key-chords. Why're you hitting control so much?
    
    And, again, get up and stretch regularly.
    
    • Re:Wow... (Score:1)

      by cog (4665)

      I'm using a lot of recursive search, lately... :-| In order to find commands I have already used in the past, I'm hitting C-R a lot... :-|