Keyboard Related Injuries

Last weekend, I attempted to fix an ailing member of my stable of IBM Model M keyboards after wearing out a buckling spring. I do this frequently enough that I have purchased both extra springs and a special tool for opening and closing the keyboard.

However, while popping heat rivets off the bottom of the keyboard, my hand slipped and I managed to lacerate the top of my right index finger’s knuckle against the side of the steel backplate. It was a nasty cut. While I didn’t get stitches, I probably should have.

Seth pointed out that this was a second order typing injury.

Since Sunday, my finger has been wrapped tightly in gauze and my finger has been in a series of homemade splints to keep the knuckle from bending under the cut. Typing without my right index finger is awkward and is straining my hand and causing soreness.

Seth suggested that this was a third order typing injury.

I’m less sure. It sounds a bit like a first order typing injury instigated by a second order injury. Perhaps though, this is just the natural process of typing injuries coming full circle.

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