Why I am Known as the Left Thumb Blogger

I have been blogging here at Disaboom for nearly six months and realized I have yet to explain why I am known as the Left Thumb Blogger. Doh!

The following is a short YouTube video my husband and I created last September to promote a blogging contest I was trying hard to win. Although I didn't win the contest, it does show why I am the Left Thumb Blogger.

A bit more detail: I plunk away at the computer keyboard with only my left thumb; my four fingers glide along the top of the keyboard to steady my unsteady hand. This position is definitely not ergonomically sound and makes the occupational therapists cringe, but hey, it works! Mom and I have often joked that I should insure my left thumb with Lloyd's of London! I would be so lost without my left thumb! What would I do for a livelihood if I couldn't type? How would I communicate with the outside world?

The non-skid placemat holds my keyboard relatively still. It also works great under my dinner plate!

In place of a mouse, I use a Traxsys (formerly Penny + Giles) joystick. Definitely not an inexpensive alternative at approximately $700 Canadian. But I have much better control with the joystick than with the mouse. With the mouse, one involuntary or jerky hand movement and the mouse pointer goes flying across the screen. How frustrating!

I also use EZ Keys software for word prediction and abbreviation expansion. When I begin typing, the six most frequently used words starting with those letters appear in a small blue box on the screen. Different words appear as I continue typing. When the word I want appears, I simply hit the corresponding number and the computer completes the word. It does save me quite a few keystrokes! Although, even with this handy software, I still only type approximately ten or twelve words a minute, give or take. It also depends on whether or not my Muse is whispering in my ear!

And that is how I became known as the Left Thumb Blogger!