First off, this entry took forever to write because of all the typos. If any make it through, do forgive me.

I write, it's what I do. And because I spend so long doing it, I am very aware of how I type, the motions I make, and the relationship I have with a keyboard. For a long time now it has shocked and appalled me that most people never think twice about their keyboard. They want a machine with all the fancy specs, but they don't care, or know, anything about the main interface they are going to use to interact with the thing.

Most of (you) will be using touch screens for your browsing by now, but I doubt that many are using that to actually type anything. And trust me, what you're using at work will be a standard, shitty, 'squashy' keyboard. Lever up a key, any key, and underneath in a little silicone nubbin. When pressed, it makes the electrical circuit and you get a letter. That silicone nubbin is the bane of my life right now.

I am a haptic, tactile, touch sensitive person, and so I bought the most wonderful keyboard. And when I say wonderful, I mean mechanical. Now if you don't understand what this means, I pity you, and look it up. But basically a mechanical keyboard uses actual mechanisms so that when you push a key something happens underneath. There are lots of different switches, for those who like tacky, or hard, or clacky, or soft but loud, or a dozen other sorts besides. I have (had) Cherry ML switches, which make a 'soft' noise but give great feedback.

For those of you who are now confused, this means that the keystroke registers before the key is fully depressed, which gives 'bounce' to the typing. The upshot of this was an increase in typing speed of 30%. Yes, thirty percent. A third faster, just by switching to a keyboard designed to actually be used rather than one produced for cheap. I kid you not (and everyone wonders how I write so fast).

And being carried out in my bag everyday for two years has taken it's toll. Not on the keyboard, but on the cable, which has died somewhere inside, rendering the whole thing useless. I am going to be forced to do some creative slicing to fix it. In the mean time, I am stuck with the crappy, squashy piece of shit this laptop came with. the keys are flat, there's no feedback, I miss keys all over the shop, and the shift is just too far right and I always hit \ instead.

So here I am with my dying laptop (he's old now), and my rubbish keys, and ideas which were moving too fast for my fingers before I lost a third of my efficiency. But I am a writer, and therefore I will be here, writing, regardless.