Posthuman Blues

Learning to love the touchpad

I've been fretting over the Synaptics TouchPad built into my laptop. It's temperamental. The cursor floats merrily across the screen, seemingly of its own volition; I lift my finger and the arrow shoots away like a frightened hummingbird. This afternoon I was acutely tempted to put my fist through the LCD screen.

Anyway, I think I've discovered a way to keep the cursor under control: I cool my fingertip by gently blowing on it. Apparently the touchpad registers the heat -- as well as the heft -- of the controlling fingertip, and if you're on edge -- as I was this afternoon, trying to point and click with the accuracy provided by a mouse -- your skin tends to grow hotter, confusing the touchpad interface.

(I've actually seen the cursor drifting and meandering across the screen when I'm not even touching the computer; I still have no clear explanation for this poltergeist-like phenomenon . . .)