Year: 2004

Dvorak keyboard layout

A lot of people out there have no idea that there are keyboard layouts other than QWERTY. And, maybe, the layout that is used on Nokia phones. (Of course, there are a lot of people out there who don’t know that keyboard layouts and mobile phones exist at all). QWERTY is the de-facto standard currently. Keyboards shipped with new computers are, by default, QWERTY keyboards. Most touchtypists are QWERTY touchtypists. And in some places you don’t even have a chance of finding any other keyboard layout in the computer shops.

Dvorak keyboard layout is something I was interested in for some time now. I haven’t tried it, but it does look yummy. I haven’t seeen any Dvorak keyboards around and I doubt I will do so in the near future. My job requires me to use a number of computers, which are used by other people too, so, I guess, I will either have to stay away from Dvorak, or find myself another job. ;)

But if it was just for one or two computers, I would really liked to try it out. If you had or have a chance to, then do so and share your experience…

Downtime

Today there was a somewhat long downtime (about 7 hours) due to a power failure in the region. Power was cut off for about 3 hours, but because it happened in the middle of the night and there is nothing much to do without light, TV or Internet at this time, I slept for another 4 hours. All the lights were out – UPS or no UPS. It is the first time that I remember that power was cut for such a long period of time without any warning from the authorities. Maybe there will be something in the news.

The Foolish Dictionary

The Foolish Dictionary is a large collection of funny descriptions of regular words. These can be used as email signatures or entertaining things to read or to say. Here are a couple of examples:

ALCOHOL A liquid good for preserving almost everything except secrets.

FAME Having a brand of cigars named after you.

LAWYER One who defends your estate against an enemy, in order to appropriate it to himself.

Back to work

Today I am back to work from my rather long vacations. It will take me a day or two to get used to working again. I have to go through about 6000 emails, since I haven’t even looked into my office mailbox. Plenty of sites to check for updates. Lots of logs to read. In three words: plenty of work.

The good side is that I will post more to the blog, since more stuff happens when I am in the office compared to when I am on vacations. So, stay tuned for often updates…