Calculate briefs

[Jessica K. Belcher]

I need help with any or all brief forms for calculate, calculator, and calculation. What do you use? Help.

And to add to it, I stroked "my calculator" out and it came up as Michael cue late or . I'll never pass the CRR. *sniffles*

[Tom Frasik, RPR, CSR 6961 (CA)]

calculate = kalt
calculator = kalt/tor
calculation - kalgs

[Tami]

Mama Scolder here. :)

Brenda, love you, Girlfriend. You have made so many days bright for me. Thanks!!

Mysci, I'm sorry to hear about the stroke. You're just way too young for something like that to happen. Since a head injury in '04, I've been struggling to get back on track. I feel I've made great progress this past year, even though the docs said after two I probably wouldn't see any difference. Glad to say they were wrong. I wish you a speedy recovery. I'm so glad to hear you're still working hard. I think always learning new things has helped my brain recover. I still have my moments of fog, but it sure beats being in a fog all day long.

We will always revert back to our old writing ways when the going gets tough. I'm guessing your hand speed is pretty topped out. I'm also guessing that you are coming back for your inflected endings (-ing, -ed, -s, -ses). I recommend that's where you start shortening your writing. Changing all of them at once might be too much for you. Start with one. As soon as that gets concreted, move to the next one. Then start tucking them, etc.

The Stenomaster Theory Book is an invaluable tool, in my opinion. He incorporates the best writing principles of all time and adds his own. After those inflected endings, get a book and go through it and see what concepts you like the best and keep moving forward.

Depoman Theory Forum is an amazing tool. Brenda transformed her writing without the SM book. She made it look easy, but I think most of us average-minded reporters need it in book form to get us through. I can't recommend the Stenomaster theory book enough. Can't just get it and let it collect dust either. I carried mine from my office to the courtroom every single time I got called into court for months and months.

I think it was Jessica who referred to less stress if you write shorter. It's so true. The shorter you write, the slower your hands go, the cleaner you write. Only makes sense.

Happy writing short!!

[Jessica K. Belcher]

Hi, Myscilyn.

Sorry about your arm troubles. You seem to be a real trooper about it. You've got to be an awesome reporter! What I've started to do, most recently, is tack on the -D or -S or -Z to any word that I possibly can. Luckily I've not had too many problems with being in court and being thrown off or anything by trying stuff like that on the fly. Usually my AI will pick it up, or when I do a transcript or am just practicing, I'll put any new stuff in my dictionary. My tran rate is getting better and better and I love that. It really is hard to find time to practice my speed, but I find that that is really helping me get used to a newer way of writing. Then when I'm more comfortable with a shorter writing technique and my speed is more on point, I'll go for the CRR.

Brenda, I'm not on Depoman, but one of these days I should join. I guess I can never be on too many forums when I need advice!

Tom, those are GREAT briefs! Thank you.

Tami, I've had the SM theory book for a couple of years, and to be honest, I haven't really looked in it too much since I bought it. And I LOVE Mark Kislingbury! He came to a seminar in Kansas a few years back and was very personable and helpful with questions I had. Some of his concepts I couldn't grasp as far as his "years" method. I really do need to refer back to that book as much as I can, though, for pointers. I guess I'm the type that just does what feels right on the machine, pick it up, and move on, and not really good about book references, although I do look in my theory book from time to time because I'm still trying to tweak my number conversion.

[Brenda Rogers]

Mysci, do you have wide keys? That would probably help to have them. It shouldn't be such a stretch that way. I've always used -SZ, even without wide keys, especially for circumstances: SIRBGSZ.

I just started a new stroke today, after hearing "let's see" at the beginning of nearly half the answers. LETSZ. I'm using the LightSpeed, and I just sort of lay my little finger over to catch the Z.

It *is* like a game, isn't it? Makes writing fun again. Tucking and phrasing and how many words can I get into one stroke? :)

[Brenda Rogers]

LOL Mysc! I don't think I could do it on a standard machine. But I was thinking about it, and what's to stop anyone from including the -D? LETSDZ (or whatever misstroke that comes out of the attempt) is probably nothing else anyway, and three strokes for "let's see" is kind of ridiculous. :)

[Jessica K. Belcher]

Myscilyn,

I guess you could do that, although I've never done it that way because, go figure, I come back with the S: GESZ/-S. I just stroked GES on my Fusion and it came up as "guess," so it would make perfect sense for me to do guesses as GESZ now. I "guess" that would be pretty hard for me seeing as though that's how I've stroked "guess" since the first day I learned how to stroke it. It makes me mad thinking about all the time I've wasted coming back, too!

I'm definitely going to work on the tucking thing. It DOES seem hard to make it make sense in your mind, but with practice it'll get better, I suppose.

[Brenda Rogers]

I never really understood using -SZ for a double-S-spelled word when what we're going for is phonetics. It forces you to come back for the plural, and that's a waste. If it's for conflict resolution, I get that, but I wouldn't use it for each and every doulble-S spelling. I use -GS for guess in phrases too.

EUGS - I guess
UGS - you guess (as in, "Are you guessing?")

Tucking is GREAT, Jessica. Really. Anything to shorten strokes is a good thing. Fewer strokes, few opportunities for misstrokes, fewer opportunities for mixed strokes (like your "my calculator" issue) ,more accurate translation. I'm tucking things now that I never thought to tuck. I was taught to tuck the -R for -er, -L for -ly, -G for -ing, and -E for -y sounds (like exactly). But now I'm tucking initial R for things like bumper (BRUFRP) and -L for -kle sounds (remember Michael?), and every other thing I can think of that will work -- and lots of asterisk uses.

[Tracy Perry]

KAL/KULT - CALCULATE
KAL/KULT/TOR - CALCULATOR
KAL/KULGS - CALCULATION
KAL/KULGZ - CALCULATIONS

[Mark Dodson]

khraeut, khraeuts,khraeugs,khraeutd, and here's a weird one that I like, khraeutdz for calculating. Mark Kislingbury taught me that one, he uses the final dz to add "ing" into one-stroke briefs. Some of his briefs are sort of tough to remember, but man, they are short, and short means fast! (In case you didn't know, he's the world record holder for speed and accuracy)

You will pass the CRR. Never give up!

[Brenda Rogers]

Mark, I usethe -DZ for -ing -- LOVE it! But sometimes -TDZ is tough to catch. In those cases, I skip the T and go straight to -DZ. In this particular word, I just tuck the -G. I use that trick with accounting, however:
-KT=account
-KDZ=accounting

[Jennifer Lent]

Get the book Brief Encounters. It's great.

[Jessica K. Belcher]

You're right, I really should invest in getting that book. That's like the "brief bible." That's one I would definitely look at a lot now especially now that I've started shortening my writing. It has a lot of great suggestions and variations on how to write stuff. I had this ALL DAY custody hearing in court today that normally I would have thought was grueling, but it wasn't because I've just recently started implementing tacking on the -D, -S, -Z, etc., on more words than I normally have. What planet have I been on?

But seriously, it's helped. Yes, I've had to add a lot more entries to the dictionary today, but that's a good thing. I really do think my speed is soooooo much better for it -- and I thought I was already fast! I really hung on ALL DAY without my hands getting tired and it actually was getting a little fun (which reminds me why I love this job). Basically, I had a good day. Sometimes they can be so few and far between for me.

But I digress, and should go to sleep ... lol