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Forty years of programming

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Re: Forty years of programming

#161

Post by ryandvm »

packetlost wrote: post #155
lproven wrote: post #150

There's an elephant in this room. Are you all ignoring it deliberately? Reading all these comments from people about what they do/don't do. Nobody seems to address the giant stinking pachyderm: are you right or left handed? Left handers have to exercise their right hands, because of all the kit made for the right-handed majority. Almost all these fancy vertical mice are right-hand only. In fact most mice are RH only.…

I'm left handed, but I very early on (ie. like around age 5-6) I switched to using my right hand with a mouse. Since getting wrist pain in my right hand, I've purchased a magic trackpad which I keep to the left of my keyboard and I alternate between left w/ touchpad and right w/ mouse. It's worked very well for me!

Same. I'm right-handed, but switch to left-handed mousing when my wrist started hurting. Now I switch back and forth several times per week. Nipped my nascent carpal tunnel in the bud I think.

What's interesting is that it's not as hard as it sounds. You basically just reverse your left/right click settings and your brain picks it up very quickly.

Re: Forty years of programming

#162

Post by benreesman »

lordnacho wrote: post #160
benreesman wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, there’s always a next level, but I’ve seen your comments over the years and IIRC you’re like an extreme low-latency prop shop pro with serious quant chops too? There’s more elite stuff (RenTech, CERN, the Equation Group?), but that’s pretty elite man. If that’s not hyper-competent I shudder to think what is.

Well no matter how extreme, it always seems like other people are smarter. For me personally I don't like playing where it's all about latency either.

Interesting! I did some low latency stuff (mikes not ns, this wasn’t HFT) and I loved it. Trade you jobs! :)

Re: Forty years of programming

#163

Post by packetlost »

lproven wrote: post #159
packetlost wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm left handed, but I very early on (ie. like around age 5-6) I switched to using my right hand with a mouse. Since getting wrist pain in my right hand, I've purchased a magic trackpad which I keep to the left of my keyboard and I alternate between left w/ touchpad and right w/ mouse. It's worked very well for me!

Good plan! I didn't have that option as I was born shortly before Douglas Engelbart did the "mother of all demos". Mice hadn't really been invented yet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_of_All_Demos Sadly for me I crippled my right arm in a bicycle crash in April and now it's quite painful to use it for a mouse, so I use it in my left hand mainly now... but I am working on it.

IMO it's easier to get the gestures with your off hand on a trackpad down than the more particular movements of a mouse. It's less constraining and you're likely already used to using it in a similar with a phone

Re: Forty years of programming

#164

Post by MailNerd »

I have found a trackball to be even better than a vertical mouse. Only your thumb moves.

Otherwise it's also Ergodox for me. I switched to Colemak at the same time, also have a programming layer ()[]{} etc. In addition I have a layer for cursornavigation and selection, word wise/char wise/start&ens of line/page wise, comparable to vim mode, but using the default shortcuts for Windows and macos (with the help of Karabiner)

It took a few weeks to get up to speed but I couldn't be happier.

Re: Forty years of programming

#165

Post by pugworthy »

qup wrote: post #84
pugworthy wrote: post #68

I'm curious if typing speed is any indicator of problems, or lack of problems. Per previous comment, I've been "typing" for over 40 years, no real problems, and am a really, really fast typer. My hands don't spend a lot of time locked in one particular position, and my fingers are moving all kinds of ways constantly when typing. Just a thought.

how fast?

60-70 wpm?

Re: Forty years of programming

#166

Post by packetlost »

ryandvm wrote: post #161
packetlost wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm left handed, but I very early on (ie. like around age 5-6) I switched to using my right hand with a mouse. Since getting wrist pain in my right hand, I've purchased a magic trackpad which I keep to the left of my keyboard and I alternate between left w/ touchpad and right w/ mouse. It's worked very well for me!

Same. I'm right-handed, but switch to left-handed mousing when my wrist started hurting. Now I switch back and forth several times per week. Nipped my nascent carpal tunnel in the bud I think. What's interesting is that it's not as hard as it sounds. You basically just reverse your left/right click settings and your brain picks it up very quickly.

I still find using a mouse with my left hand a bit awkward, but using a touchpad is just fine

Re: Forty years of programming

#167

Post by whhuh »

Zamiel_Snawley wrote: post #72
cassepipe wrote: post #52

Dear Vim beginner, before getting a fancy keyboard, do remap Esc to some other key. It makes no sense to have your most important key where it is nowadays. The reason the back to normal mode key is ESC is because that key used to be much closer from the home row. My personal preference is to use Caps Lock because each OS has an easy solution for this simple remap and since it's system wide you can use vim modes elsew…

Caps lock is such a waste of prime keyboard real estate, even for non-vim users! For those who don’t use vim, just switching caps lock and control is probably better so you can copy and paste with less contortion. For vim users, I highly recommend remapping caps lock to be control when held, and escape when tapped.

Thank you!! I just remapped caps lock to esc and I think I'm in heaven. I've always thought esc was painfully far away, but never thought to remap caps lock.

Re: Forty years of programming

#168

Post by bregma »

jacurtis wrote: post #45

A WARNING for anyone who thinks this article doesn't apply to them: If you are reading this post and thinking, "oh I don't have these problems, I'm going to read something else", I encourage you to pause. Having been in this industry for a while, I have seen RSI-type injuries happen to HUGE portions of my colleagues. I've met many people who have changed careers over this. The reality is that spending 8-10+ hours a d…

I've been programming since I was 10 and I'm over 60 now. I spend 8 to 10 hours at a keyboard. When should I expect these problems to start?

Re: Forty years of programming

#169

Post by SulphurCrested »

ustad wrote: post #157
SulphurCrested wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ask yourself why it frustrates you. Perhaps you can’t see exactly where the click will be – a high res screen makes a difference. Perhaps you haven’t learned all the mouse shortcuts. Two on macOS are: triple-click to select a whole line; and click, scroll down using PGDOWN or mouse actions, then SHIFT-click to select everything between the two. Perhaps it’s just a bad mouse. I use a tenkeyless keyboard, which doesn’t…

Whats the keyboard you have?

Filco Majestouch 2 TKL with Cherry MX Brown switches. I configured macOS to swap the OPTION and COMMAND keys and physically swapped the keycaps using the supplied puller.

This is a Japanese keyboard with German switches. I’ve had it for quite a while. The Cherry patents have now expired so there are now several third parties making copies of the switches, and many makers of much cheaper mechanical keyboards. However, most of those I’ve seen lack OPTION and COMMAND on both sides. The Filco has OPTION, COMMAND and CTRL on both sides (and, of course, SHIFT).

On that last point, I worded my earlier post wrongly. What I should have said was that you never had to press a key and its shifts with the same hand if the shifts are available on the other side.

Re: Forty years of programming

#170

Post by a96 »

naruhodo wrote: post #98
pugworthy wrote: post #25

I too have been programming for 40 years, am in early 60's, and amazed that I have no real wrist issues from all that time of typing, etc. I've also been a pretty avid WASD + Mouse gamer for a long time as well, and I think gaming probably causes me more issues than programming.

I'm in my early-mid 50s, I've been programming for over 40 years and like you I have experienced more cramps and discomfort from Ctrl/Shift + WASD while gaming than any programming I have done. I am a rock climber, however, so I have some significant muscular development in my forearms. And the thought of that reminds me that from time to time I have had problems with my knees, which started when I was a child. My kn…

What immediately comes to mind for me is: how much are you holding down? Compare gaming and programming and it's pretty obvious which one is going to be the killer.
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