Burrito of Peace wrote on Nov 16, 2023, 09:10:
I agree with you with one exception, and it isn't anywhere near the $40K price range. The current generation of the Corvette. An American midengined sports car? Yes, please!

*meh* I like the Corvette aesthetic for the most part, and there have been many models I would have liked to buy over the decades. But much less so these days. I did the muscle car thing in the 90s. I bought a 1989 Mustang GT brand new, loved that car. Did too many stupid things in that car. These days it always annoys/amuses me when I see a 'vette being driven by an old guy doing less than the speed limit. While I can't imagine being THAT guy, I rarely drive over the limit or do any of the other things a person envisions doing in a car like that. But more than anything, too low to the ground. Could I get in and out of it? Sure. Would it be "an effort" on some days? Yeah. Would I take one if you offered it to me for free with a stipulation I could not sell it? Sure.

Mr. Tact wrote on Nov 16, 2023, 08:43:
Wow. Coming to you with a loaner so they could fix a recall issue(on a flatbed no less), that's some awfully good customer service. Was it a serious problem?

I'd say so since the recall was to fix an issue that caused the battery to drain flat and leave you stranded. Which is what happened to me.

Mr. Tact wrote on Nov 16, 2023, 08:43:
My issue is I don't think there is a car out there I would buy. I mean, if you gave me $40k and said I had to spend it on a car, I could probably manage to, but there is nothing out there I really "want" to get. So, while my 2008 Altima is not really showing any signs of needing to be replaced, time is undefeated and I dread the day when I need to look for a new vehicle.

I agree with you with one exception, and it isn't anywhere near the $40K price range. The current generation of the Corvette. An American midengined sports car? Yes, please!

Haha -- MUDs. Yeah, I remember back in the day the one I was most familiar you didn't need to type out actions like that, but you did need to type out the spells to cast them. They mostly were not English words and had odd letter combinations. Being a good typist was definitely an advantage.

I was a fairly proficient 2-finger typist through high school, fast enough I was allowed to skip the Typing class that was required for the computer and business courses I wanted to take. When I was in college, I started playing MUDs - Multi-User Dungeon - and had to type very very fast to avoid losing all my items when someone ganked me. "get all corpse" or "quaff solar flare" during fights, that sort of thing. I learned to properly touch-type during this trial-by-fire period. MUDs are still around, if you need motivation to learn to type quickly

Wow. Coming to you with a loaner so they could fix a recall issue(on a flatbed no less), that's some awfully good customer service. Was it a serious problem?

My issue is I don't think there is a car out there I would buy. I mean, if you gave me $40k and said I had to spend it on a car, I could probably manage to, but there is nothing out there I really "want" to get. So, while my 2008 Altima is not really showing any signs of needing to be replaced, time is undefeated and I dread the day when I need to look for a new vehicle.

jdreyer wrote on Nov 15, 2023, 20:00:
In 1983, a Ford F-150 cost $8000, or $24,000 today. Of course, you can't touch one under $36,500 new today. The bloat is real.

I can't speak for all of Texas, but the trick here is advertise a truck for some reasonable amount of money. Go to the lot to see it. Gee, wouldn't you know it, that truck just sold/got transferred/etc. But here's this $45K truck ready to roll out right now! Do you know how much you want your monthly payments to be?

Ironically, that is how I ended up with my 1500. RAM let me build the whole truck on the web, sent it to a local dealer, and required the dealer to honor the quoted price on the web. No bullshit markups or games. Price checked that against reputable sources and it was a little less than two grand over expected retail (without dealer markup). Fair enough when, at the time, dealers were slapping markups of $10K or better on vehicles and calling it "Adjusted market value".

Took me all of a half hour to buy that truck. When it hit the lot 4 months later, the dealer called me, I walked in, signed some TTL paperwork, and I was handed the keys. Guy I dealt with was the not typical slimeball dealer salesman. It was really quite pleasant. Thanked me for buying the truck through them and loaded me up with Mopar swag before I left. Had a small issue with it a month ago (recall), they came and got it on a flatbed that already had a truck on it. The truck that came on the flatbed was a loaner until I got my truck back. I thought that was pretty damn nice of them.

in high school i took a typing class and we basically learned a key a day. it was a great way to learn but i don't think i'd have the patience to learn like that on my own. glad i took it tho - typing fast is probably one of the most useful things i've learned to do in everyday life.

Haven't typing games been given away on Epic a few times over the years?

Blue wrote on Nov 15, 2023, 10:46:
Feels like there's a tautology in there. Thanks Max.

Even after looking up the definition of "tautology" I'm not completely certain what you were trying to say here Blue. What I will say, is I think whether or not a pet will improve someone's happiness varies with each person somewhere from "not at all" to "incredibly so" and with the frequency from "never" to "all the time".

Bodolza wrote on Nov 15, 2023, 19:46:
I wouldn't call QWERTY "designed" at all.

I don't know if it is true, but I've read it was designed to slow down typists because the mechanisms of existing typewriters at the time were very limiting. If the layout was efficient too many people would be able to type faster than the machines were capable of.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Nov 15, 2023, 19:24:

RedEye9 wrote on Nov 15, 2023, 15:32:
Truck bloat is killing us, new crash data reveals.
The facts backup that bicycling video i sent in a couple months ago. https://www.bluesnews.com/s/257370/into-the-black
Whether you're walking, driving or bicycling - big trucks are killers.

<Laughs in 4x4>

But seriously, trucks have gotten stupidly huge. When I park my Lightning (a full sized F150 from the early 2000s) next to my 1500, the Lightning looks positively puny. Even my 1998 F150 longbed truck was smaller than the 1500. The current model Ranger is actually slightly larger than my Lightning and it is considered a "midsize" truck.

But you gotta pander to the TDE crowd who gobble up the trucks at $50K+ if you want to make the cash.

Though I am encouraged by the sales of the Maverick. I have yet to see one sitting on a lot, they don't last long enough. Most people are ordering them and having to be put on a wait list.

In 1983, a Ford F-150 cost $8000, or $24,000 today. Of course, you can't touch one under $36,500 new today. The bloat is real.

VaranDragon wrote on Nov 15, 2023, 13:24:
Blue, I am shocked. I type like Eddie Van Halen plays the guitar. I expect everyone of our generation to be at least on the level of Joe Satriani.

Typing with the Alien.

PHJF wrote on Nov 15, 2023, 17:42:
QWERTY was designed

I wouldn't call QWERTY "designed" at all. Go ahead and type out the word "typewriter" on your keyboard, and you'll see what the primary design goal was.

Dvorak, OTOH, is specifically designed for efficiency.

RedEye9 wrote on Nov 15, 2023, 15:32:
Truck bloat is killing us, new crash data reveals.
The facts backup that bicycling video i sent in a couple months ago. https://www.bluesnews.com/s/257370/into-the-black
Whether you're walking, driving or bicycling - big trucks are killers.

<Laughs in 4x4>

But seriously, trucks have gotten stupidly huge. When I park my Lightning (a full sized F150 from the early 2000s) next to my 1500, the Lightning looks positively puny. Even my 1998 F150 longbed truck was smaller than the 1500. The current model Ranger is actually slightly larger than my Lightning and it is considered a "midsize" truck.

But you gotta pander to the TDE crowd who gobble up the trucks at $50K+ if you want to make the cash.

Though I am encouraged by the sales of the Maverick. I have yet to see one sitting on a lot, they don't last long enough. Most people are ordering them and having to be put on a wait list.

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing

Came with my first home PC back in the late 80s. Made is very easy for this (at the time) 8 year old.

QWERTY was designed so that the most common keys would be either towards the middle where you are fastest or right where your fingers already rest... so I doubt you are losing that much speed.

You should definitely be using the ring fingers, though. Little fingers are pretty unimportant besides hitting "a" (which it is already resting on anyways).

When you have been doing something incorrectly for long enough you get very proficient at it. That's where I'm at - I'm a very good bad typist.

EDIT: Though I am thinking that means I am still inferior to a bad good typist.

This comment was edited on Nov 15, 2023, 17:39.

RedEye9 wrote on Nov 15, 2023, 15:32:
Truck bloat is killing us, new crash data reveals.
The facts backup that bicycling video i sent in a couple months ago. https://www.bluesnews.com/s/257370/into-the-black
Whether you're walking, driving or bicycling - big trucks are killers.

Yes, trucks and their evil spawn: loose rogue tires rampaging.
Google videos, sometimes they seem to have a mind.

----
Congrats Blue, touch typing is a really pleasurable magic, and quicker to learn that you think.
Persist, and be happily surprised !

If Blue has been keeping up with the Epic giveaways, he should have Epistory -Typing Chronicles in his library from earlier this year.

I think the keyboard matters too. I bought a mechanical keyboard a while back with those big chunky keys, and my typing slowed way down. I returned it and got a low-profile cherry and my typing speed went back to normal. The Corsair K70 MK.2 Low Profile is almost perfect for me, but I wish they had a TKL (or mini) equivalent. I honestly type the fastest on a macbook pro. It just seems to be the best size for my hands/fingers and the low profile of a laptop keyboard helps