Arm Chair Mushing

5 February 2012
12:30 PM

Sunrise at	9:24 AM	in direction	128°	Southeast
Sunset at	4:46 PM	in direction	232°	Southwest

Duration of day: 7 hours, 21 minutes (6 minutes, 46 seconds longer than yesterday)

There is one thing, when is a dog sled race is on, that I do very well; I am an excellent arm chair musher.  You may not think this takes much skill - oh, but it does!  Very complex factors go into arm chair musher training and once trained, arm chair mushers must learn how to use the newly gained specialized skill set when a race is actually running.

There are four basic skill sets and one attitude needed for arm chair mushing:

• Motor skills - specifically keyboarding and mouse control
• Device knowledge -  knowing how to get at what you want quickly on your machine
• Nosy Parker/multi-tasking capabilities -  the ability to snoop on several aspects of the race at once
• Post timing - depending on your personal key result goal, when to be diplomatic or when to be the most irritating
• A high degree of Impatience 

I will draw upon my current arm chair mushing event, Yukon Quest races, to illustrate points as needed.

Motor Skills

The avid arm chair musher will have toned keyboarding and mouse control muscles for months in advance of an event.  Quick keyboarding, consistent mouse tracking, and top-rated select skills require muscles able to hold cramped, uncomfortable positions for prolonged time intervals.  There are several methods that arm chair mushers may use to support their ability to manage computer use motor skills easily.

• Desktop User:  These users must ensure they have good arm support, a mouse pad and mouse that are not dirty or gummy so they track easily, and that they have good back support.  They are the most thoroughly trained with respect to their mouse arm muscles.
• Laptop User:  A favorite chair with the perfect back position may be selected by laptop users who then position the laptop such that it is the perfect height for typing without straining arm muscles.  Others find favorite spots in bed supported by pillows and computer bed tables.  Individuals in the second group exemplify clear sophistication in preparing for an arm chair mushing event.
• Smart Phone Users:  Typing in micro-spaces requires digital control and visual acuity beyond what those using standard keyboards require.

Device Knowledge

Whether a computer user or a smart phone user, all must be able to ensure they have a minimum of three browsers up at once, all with several tabs open, in order to follow parallel reports for successful arm chair mushing.  For example, on one browser alone, I had tabs open to the Yukon Facebook Page, my facebook page to get updates from other FB users on indivdiual mushers, Living tracking, and the official current standings for both the YQ1000 and YQ300.  Another browser had pages for other parts of the Yukon Quest official page as needed, the YQ youtube site, etc.  Which brings me to the next important arm chair mushing skill - Nosy Parker/Multi-tasking.

Nosy Parker/Multi-tasking

Nosy Parkers are natural multi-taskers.  After all, they are sticking their noses into everything and that means being able to track the business of others very effectively.  This willingness to make everyone else's business your own will do you in good stead as your flip through various tabs, use search engines to find specific information, and read quickly through what others have been saying.  For example, while typing this blog, I have flipped back and forth several times to track what has been happening on the YQ facebook page and live tracker.  I had closed out the YQ current update pages because they were not updating, but fortunately, the YQ Official FB page posted it was now possible to verify standing by the Current Standings page and I brought up tabs for both the YQ1000 and YQ300.  Had I been committed to minding my own business, this blog, I would have missed that entirely!

Post Timing

Well, I have to say that most of those who post on the YQ Facebook page seem to fit into the group of those whose diplomacy goals are higher than those whose goals are to be somewhat irritating.  I personally lean toward the latter group, but it all a matter of personal preference.  Pursuing either end goal in no way affects your effectiveness as an arm chair musher.   However, being better at the latter goal, I can give you a few tips in how to achieve those goals:

• Never read more than the last post.  That way you won't know that your question has been answered elsewhere and can re-post the same question.
• Never remain a silent participant.  In fact, dominating the exchange means you are in top form.
• Never think anyone may know more than you.  This can develop into a serious handicap because you are actually acknowledging another person's feeling - instead of achieving your goal to be irritating.
• Be prepared to eat crow.  You will be wrong enough times you will have to do that a lot.

An Attitude of Impatience

Most people are not successful if they do not have a high degree of patience, but arm chair mushers excel when that aspect is present.  They can make use of all of the skills noted above by having this one personality characteristic (one that I might add would be considered a serous flaw under other circumstances).  Your mouse arm skills are exercised by constantly switching between tabs, screens, and refreshing images.  Your keyboarding skills (no matter what the device or message medium) are exercised by constantly posting comments on every facebook page, blog, or forum possible.  Your nosy parker/multi-tasking skills are developed because you simply can't wait to find out where that particular musher is and you nose around to see if you can find more information.  Your posting goals can be met in two ways.  If you are attempting to be diplomatic, your impatience to find out information will, by its nature, reward with you helpful feedback as to when you have pushed an official too far.  On the other hand, if your goal is to be irritating, you will be rewarded in the exact same situation!  Marvelous, isn't it?

One More Thing

I failed to list one other important characteristic, that I will throw in here.  You really must love dog sled races and sled dogs.  Otherwise, you will find all of these activities a total bore.  After all is said and done, we follow the race because of that and nothing else.

So my fellow arm chair musher - mush on!