New Keyboard

My keyboard at work is stuffed because of the backspace getting stuck. So I decided to get something more comfortable and ergonomic since I sit here for most of the day and dont want to develop a blood clot in my wrists. There isnt much to choose from and most of the ergonomic ones are quite weird and I dont have the patience to develop a new typing style, and since I wont be using an ergo at home (I game) its too difficult. Just like when I went through the phase of using my left hand for my mousing at work and right hand at home for gaming... eventualy you do get used to it but the main problem is that you are shit at both left and right hanndedness. So you end up sucking at games and eveything. Its also weird trying to explain this to you coworkers that you want to develop your ambidexterity. I currently have the Logitech 600 media keyboard and is quite nice to use, has medium keys, like a hybrid between regular keys and laptop keys. In that respect its perfect. Its quitet and has a nice wheel to control the volume of music and some nice internet buttons AND the dual function keys which are acutally usefull. On top of that its nice looking and doesnt take up too much realestate. Some fancier keyboards take up way too much space. Its also only $30. Its also not too bad for gaming, havent had any issues on that front.

Initial installation works great out of the box. Most importantly its nice and comfy, the mouse is tehawesomz on the fly dpi change :-p

However, after restarting about 78 times the keyboard is not recognised in setpoint, the mouse is so I could change the settings, but not the keyboard. Hopefully I will find a solution soon.

Experiment in Change

I tend to collect a lot of change over the course of time… (Insert whatever time period you are comfortable in comprehending). I hardly ever spend it because I don’t like to keep change in my pocket and the fact that most things these days cost more than the change in ones pocket causing you to use a note. So, what normally happens is money gets transferred to my change tray, then sorted into money bags and taken to the bank. My question is, could this be used as an effective savings strategy? I never use it and its not like I’m going to miss it either way. So its like I have already spent it. However having an extra four hundred bucks in the bank every few months is always nice.

Since I already put the money back into the bank, I’m already saving it. But how much have I saved? Again, is this an effective strategy? Obviously not the only strategy, but one that could buy me say a nice holiday say to the world cup in 2010…

So I will open a new ING Direct Account and deposit all money I collect in change. I think deposits once a month should be sufficient. Each month I will report how things are going.

Backspace

Peripheral problems are plaguing me at the moment. The backspace on the keyboard is stuffed so I can’t do anything without deleting it immediately, in addition to the other problems with holding down the backspace brings… The el cheapo k/b I have replaced it with as an interim measure its atrocious. It is loud and the ergonomics have left both hands sore after 2 mins of typing. Additionally the dollar symbol key doesn’t work. The dollar key is kinda useful for me since I’m an accountant.

For most users this will never be a problem, but my mouse is too slow after maxing out the speed setting in windows. So I’m thinking I need to get a new mouse also. My home mouse is ok since it has a high dpi/resolution. I’m thinking of getting cordless mouse and k/b set since that will eliminate the problem of not having a long enough cord. I should also be able to place my box under the desk and free up some valuable real estate, not to mention the potential for lower noise levels…

But I am mostly against cordless k/b mouse because it is unnecessary for devices that will not be moved around much. USB hub solves the cord length problem. And I would have to take back all the mean things I said to cordless k/b & mouse users.
So, just got back from some morning exercise. Wasnt as bad as I thought it would be, once you get up and put your shoes on and just start moving, its kinda like any other time of the day. Except very stiff from badminton last night. Now to find some food.

Wednesday Morning

A few interesting things happening at the moment. Just started back at work this week. I had a reasonably good holiday. Feel relaxed yet motivated, a good year ahead I think. But so far this week, I have been hit in the nuts, back hurts, internet is slow, car has run out of electricity, no phone credit, put on all weight lost prior to holidays and its only Wednesday morning.

I have also been doing some research on exercise patterns. One of the things I have noticed is that its erratic, there is not set schedule. However with badminton there is, and I actually attend. Why, because I want to. To be more specific, its fun, I learn something each week, I improve and I know its good to do exercise. Its almost like I’m enjoying doing exercise. Which sounds odd even typing this. There is an article somewhere which I have lost that links it back to flow.

This goal orientated approach has inspired me to undertake the 10k bridge to Brisbane fun run later this year. It is a long time until the actual event, but I feel I may need to do some training before then…

Another interesting bit of information floating around is the idea that people who exercise in the morning do so more consistently then those that exercise in the afternoon. There are other obvious benefits such not being able to make excuses and not feeling tired after work (again another excuse).

Lastly, some there seems to be the idea that you should exercise in the morning to loose weight, or exercise in the afternoon to gain muscle. Not sure how reputable the American Personal Trainers Association is, but it sounds good enough for me. I wont know unless I try.

I did actually get up at 5:30am to go for a bike ride, but because of my back I decided to just lay on the floor for the rest of the morning.

All Breakfast All the Time

Karl has commented in a previous post, an appropriate response to this topic warrants a full blog post.

A while ago while when out on the town with my friends Karl and Jonathan, I brought up the topic of breakfast and specifically the various methods one has to cook scrambled eggs. In searching for recipes I stumbled across Mr Breakfast, dedicated to all things breakfast. But what if you don’t want to actually make the breakfast yourself? Cafe 21 (at the casino) you can order all day breakfast, because its open 24/7 you actually can order at anytime. Like at 2am and slightly drunk . It’s about 24 times better than a kebab. Most cafe’s have some kind of all day breakfast, all day breakfast is great (I think Rics has all day breakfast... can’t fully remember...). But what about other breakfast foods. Imagine being able to get a bowl of cereal at 6pm after work? Or peanut butter on toast for lunch, or pancakes at 11pm (Pancake Manor). What about a dosa as a midnight snack?

You Eat Now!

Is the slogan. The name was going to be Mr Breakfast, but since Mr Breakfast seems to already be taken (at least in Americaland). Need to call it something else.

MisterBreakfast. - All Day International Breakfast Restaurant: You Eat Now!

If there is ever a time you are feeling hungry. Think of Breakfast.
Just saw the movie Christina Vicky Barcelona. It’s a Woody Allen movie and as always there are pretty women and he somehow manages to get them to do anything, hence the reason to see the movie. But other than that there is a nice story and is well worth watching.

I am currently not hungry, but feel like eating. So I thought to myself, as no one was awake to hear me, someone needs to write a midnight snack cook book. Late evening is a funny time of the day. Its quieter, cooler, darker, in many ways nicer. Time to reflect on your failures of the day and plan new more complex ways to hide it tomorrow.