Really sorry to hear of your latest accident, so exacerbating your earlier one. I join others in wishing your operation tomorrow week complete success and a speedy recovery back to Square One.

I was interested also to read your last line, commenting on your training to use capital letters. With the monitor’s permission 🙂 may I add briefly to my elaboration, using my own career-long typographic ‘training’!

The reason you and all secretaries and typists were trained to use all capitals was because, with that technology, there was simply no alternative to emphasising word/s, other than using the red half of a bi-coloured ribbon, only possible if fitted of course. Even highlighting pens were not around! You could back-space the ‘platen’ and underline as necessary but that was just too time-consuming.

Today, we are used to umpteen options in this digital world: font weights (italic for mild emphasis and bold for stronger) and even increasing the size (if on a separate line please!); colour (ditto); underlining; and so on.

Sorry your in the wars, good luck with the operation and I hope all goes well.

Cindy

Take care,

Bob

I'm sorry to hear that you've had a fall - I hope your operation on Wednesday goes well.

Julia

was a touch typist for part of my career. I have now fallen again

and broken my right elbow, op on Wednesday next. even more

difficult now as right arm again. will use small letters from now on.

it just against my training not to use capital letters.

sue southampton

Mike -

totally off topic (sorry!) but - have you ever read the book "A prayer for Owen Meaney"?

('nuff said ...)

RosieMo:

I did reply but at such length for an “Off topic” thread, I think it got pulled! So a more brief answer then: No. 🙂

totally off topic (sorry!) but - have you ever read the book "A prayer for Owen Meaney"?

('nuff said ...)

Sue

I am totally with you in the safari tour, like you I have done Kenya plus add on, my dream would be a really great safari tour...then an option either to come home or relax for a while!...

By the way Sue did you know that when you post in capital letters it's either to make a point or to show your shouting, so I think your really getting you point across in this posting.

Cindy

DEAR CINDY

I HAVE TO USE CAPITAL LETTERS AS I HAVE A SMASHED WRIST AND CAN ONLY USE ONE HAND SO CANNOT KEEP

CHANGING TO USE SHIFT KEY TO MAKE CAPITAL LETTERS

SUE SOUTHAMPTON

hi sue southampton:

thank goodness I read your reply to nixon before posting! posting in caps is a bane of mine usually [partly due I expect to having been a typographic designer but, as cindy showed, not necessarily.]

of course I’m really sorry to know the reason behind it and am only posting because i’m wondering if it would be a better choice to leave the caps lock off and just use lower case (which will also include numerals? all-caps are very difficult to read in a block -- one’s eyes are slowed down as most words just become an oblong block similar to others.

Whereas lower-case letters -- because of what are technically called ‘ascenders’ [like the ‘extended ‘stems’ of the ‘b’ and ‘h’], and ‘descenders’ [as in the ‘tails’ of the ‘g’ and ‘y’ for examples] -- give words a distinctive shape which allows one’s eyes to recognise and absorb it instantly to such an extent that most people can scan and quickly take in a whole line of text which you just cannot do with block capitals.

as you see, i’ve gone back and changed all the capitals in the above to provide an instant example. i’ll resist the temptation to add a copy all in caps! And that last character [the exclamation-mark] is the only one I couldn’t use without pressing the shift key. note the use of square brackets.

of course i don’t mean to sound patronising and you might be interested in others’ views if anyone cares to offer them. but i defy anyone to return to your original post and say they could find no difference.

i’ll get my coat.....

Sue

I am totally with you in the safari tour, like you I have done Kenya plus add on, my dream would be a really great safari tour...then an option either to come home or relax for a while!...

By the way Sue did you know that when you post in capital letters it's either to make a point or to show your shouting, so I think your really getting you point across in this posting.

Cindy

DEAR CINDY

I HAVE TO USE CAPITAL LETTERS AS I HAVE A SMASHED WRIST AND CAN ONLY USE ONE HAND SO CANNOT KEEP

CHANGING TO USE SHIFT KEY TO MAKE CAPITAL LETTERS

SUE SOUTHAMPTON

So sorry to hear you have a smashed wrist I fully understand now,

Cindy

Sue

I am totally with you in the safari tour, like you I have done Kenya plus add on, my dream would be a really great safari tour...then an option either to come home or relax for a while!...

By the way Sue did you know that when you post in capital letters it's either to make a point or to show your shouting, so I think your really getting you point across in this posting.

Cindy

DEAR CINDY

I HAVE TO USE CAPITAL LETTERS AS I HAVE A SMASHED WRIST AND CAN ONLY USE ONE HAND SO CANNOT KEEP

CHANGING TO USE SHIFT KEY TO MAKE CAPITAL LETTERS

SUE SOUTHAMPTON