Approaching Semi-Retirement From Political Blogging

Soon, the last of my political blogs will be absorbed by better visionaries than I, and I will enter my semi-retirement from political blogging. A snippet from my announcement:

Many of you have been with us since Blogs For Victory was Blogs For Bush, my first national political blog that became one of the most successful political blogs in the country back in 2004, and took me places I’d never expected. I was at the 2004 Republican National Convention as one of the first credentialed bloggers. I was invited to Capitol Hill on more than one occasion for various blogger conferences, and even had a few meetings with the staff of high ranking Republican members of Congress, as well as Karl Rove and well known political pundits. It’s also worth noting that while my wife never read my blogs before we met, it’s safe to say we’d have never met had it not been for my political blogging. Also, Mark and I have both been on national television, and have a book deal. On the local level, I started political blogs in Massachusetts and Upstate New York that saw similar successes with media exposure and recognition from local political leaders. It has been a tremendous ride, but my time in the driver’s seat has come to an end.

Click here for the whole thing.

Dvorak Keyboard Layout in iOS 5

Sources inform me that Apple has finally caught on, and will include the Dvorak Keyboard layout in the new version of their iOS, version 5, due out in the fall.

The latest version of iOS 4 only included software support for QWERTY, AZERTY, and QWERTZ layouts, though it would support Dvorak with an external keyboard. (see screenshot)

This is big news for me, as it’s now been nearly three years since I became a Dvorak typist. The switch was a challenge because in order to retrain my finger to know where to go, I had to switch not only at home, but at work. The only place I couldn’t switch was my iPhone. Truthfully, while I wanted to switch my typing 100%, this wasn’t a huge issue since thumb typing, in my opinion, is different from actual typing, and the benefits of Dvorak can’t really be achieved on such a small typing screen.

Of course, then the iPad came out. And the lack of Dvorak support in iOS was a huge disappointment, and was probably, in retrospect, the deal breaker for me. In truth, the iPad, when it was first launched, was not a big deal to me, and I didn’t really want one. However, with all the apps that are now available, I see the iPad as a potentially important tool that can greatly enhance my productivity. I own a MacBook Pro which sits on my desk, and goes virtually nowhere, despite it being designed for portability. So, I’ve been itching for an iPad for a while now, but the keyboard issue was… just that… an issue I couldn’t ignore.

But, that’s changed, and when the new operating is released, I see an iPad more clearly in my future. There are many of us who have made the switch in order to type faster while reducing strain on our hands and wrists, and there are many of us who have resisted iPhones and iPads because of that.

So, I look forward to the new iOS 5. It will be interesting switching to Dvorak for thumb typing, and it’ll be great to not have to deal with QWERTY for the iPad, or have to buy an external keyboard for it. The next question is, will there be a new iPad announced this year, and will it be an iPad 2 HD or an iPad 3?