Incidentally, I find that the keyboard itself makes quite a difference. I should have realized this earlier, but then again, I have not used any keyboard save my own since the beginning of the Dvorak experiment, at least until now. The fact that my laptop keyboard has both layouts printed on its keys (the standard QWERTY with which it came and the Dvorak stickers I made, if you recall) has probably been slowing me down. It definitely doesn't help when I try to type QWERTY; I just took another typing test in QWERTY, on my computer, and got 15 wpm, 2 mistakes! I reckon, not only am I more used to looking at the Dvorak stickers (as opposed to the printed keys), but also, the physical printed letters on the office keyboard's keys and those of my computer are different. Here are some pictures to illustrate the point.
The keys of the Dell keyboard have their letters printed in the upper left corner (where I have the silver Sharpie on the Macbook), whereas those of the Macbook have their letters printed in the center of the key. When typing, the QWERTY layout of the Macbook is therefore completely obscured by the fingertip when a particular key is pressed, whereas the Dell's QWERTY and the Macbook's Dvorak are still visible. Not to mention that having the one in that particular location accustoms me to looking there.
Once my touchtyping in Dvorak improves, I intend to switch my office computer to Dvorak. I would do it now, seeing as I much prefer Dvorak, but I have no desire to pry apart the keyboard, or else make a set of stickers for it.
An aside, because it has become habitual: the first excerpt was taken from A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde, who is really good. I thoroughly enjoyed The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, and I intend to read this one too, at some point. Unfortunately, it will be later rather than sooner, as I have a very long list of books to read, and this one's closer to the bottom, I'm afraid.
The second passage was from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Ah, classic scifi. I have read this one more than once (which makes my 15 wpm all the more pathetic). Great book. It also occurs to me: what an unfortunate name! What parents would ever name their son Aldous, when there are better names to be had? It sounds more like an adjective than a name, and reads far too close to "odious" than is healthy in a name.
