learning to type again

Aug 6, 2007 //


sadFinger

I am finding that I need to learn to retype again. The left middle finger has no feeling in its tip (actually in the entire highlighted area) and my left hand isn’t letting it play in the typing games. That’s causing me to get cramps from the weird contortions that the hand is making to work around the finger.

So this four fingered typing isn’t a viable long term solution. I’m working on getting the hand to “trust” the finger again. It’s tremendously slowing down my WPM. I’m basically having to relearn how to touch type with one finger that doesn’t give a lot of feedback about it’s relative positioning.

It’s really strange to have to struggle at typing after so long. And it’s a lesson about how much we sub-consciously rely on senses, like touch, to orient us in the word. This is such a little injury but its taking me a while to adjust to. I can’t imagine what its like for people who suffer major trauma.

For those interested, there are more healing pictures of the finger after the jump. It’s not gory this time. I promise.

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woot! AAA here i come!

Aug 4, 2007 //


Just got the e-mail confirmation that I’ll be presenting at the American Anthropological Association (AAA isn’t just for cars) National Convention this fall on my U of C bot’s research. This is awesome news on multiple counts! So DC here I come (at least in October … make that December).

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the bots keep coming

Jul 25, 2007 //


Just got this be-bop, spam bot mashup and had to share:

from: Romana Carter
subject: anti-technology, bugeja

or on the real relationship

Good afternoon. How is it going? Email me at jj@linkmailmessage.info only. I am lonely girl. I will reply with my pics 5-year-old son recompense. I note and marketing pitches are evaluating claims

Wow. There’s a lot going on in there. I’m not quite sure if she wants to send me pictures of her 5 year old son (Definite mood killer there Romana) or said 5 year old is going to pay me for looking at pictures of his mom (Equally creepy). I am glad that she is taking my marketing pitches seriously.

BTW, Bugeja happens to be the family name of the Maltese Counts della Senia. What the della Senia have against technology is unknown to me.

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workshop teaching is sooo different than classroom

Jul 23, 2007 //


I just wrapped a three hour workshop on Variable Data Printing for the International Graphic Arts Education Association (IGAEA)’s 2007 National Conference currently being held at RIT. It’s a teach the teacher type event. I spent most of the weekend preparing my material, and, of course, once I got on the ground, I scrapped about half of it.

Variable Data Prints are print products that are customized by pulling information out of a database. The primary use is direct advertisements (what some folks outside the biz commonly refer to as junk mail). The workshop, based on the class I’ve been teaching for the last year or so, presented a method for introducing students to the marketing, technology, and visual aspects of creating VDP.

Or at least that was the plan. As usual, once you begin to execute things change. The lecture part stayed mainly the same. But I changed the exercises pretty significantly. Things definitely need to be more “tactical.” Next time I’ll use more step-by-step hand outs. I think I avoided them because I wasn’t sure if they would limit the need to have an instructor – the concern of going too far down the path of a self taught workshop.

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stitched together (nc-17)

Jul 17, 2007 //


Last Friday 13 sutures came out of my finger and thankfully everything remained attached — I had been haunted by a cartoon image of the top of my finger flipping open as soon as the stitches came out.The healing has progressed really well; better in fact than my surgeon expected (how’s that for confidence in your patients). Due to the loss of tissue, the finger will most likely have an uneven look, but all and all he thinks everything should be o.k.

What has been a bit strange is the “hard candy shell” (comprised of dead skin) that’s formed over the tip of the finger. I’m told that it will peel off one of these days (the shell, not the finger). For the moment though, I can’t feel anything through it, which leads me to wonder how much of my sense of touch that I’ll have.

Still, I feel really lucky.

Especially since I’m forced to keep my middle finger splinted and held up high. Which is strangely therapeutic:

”Me

Oh, and in response to LadyGoat’s comment from a few days ago, I did a hell of a job on the bushes before the accident! Check out this artistry:

The bushes

Ok, so now onto the nc-17 part of this post, if you dare, you can see pictures of the finger carnage. For everyone’s sake, they’re after the jump…
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