Ephemeral Eyes

Why did I wait until my 40s to try this?

We are taking a hike in the forest in southern Washington, and after a while I noticed my jaw was really hurting, and I didn't know why...

Took me a moment to realize, it was because I'd been grinning like an idiot the whole time. Because, I like trees!

#Alexithymia

If you never fuck around then you'll never find out.

My wife bought me some hair pins with a little bat wing on the end of each, and I fucking love them so much!

It was a completely random gift, because she knows I like hair pins but I've also broken most of the cool ones I've had. So, she found me some metal ones.

I am starting to think she might have a crush on me, which is really cool because I like her a lot!

Someone should just rinse the pudding off of the proof.

When is it my turn to get the zoomies?

Is it against the law to pee and drink at the same time?

Was McDonald already old when they got the farm? Was there ever a point when young McDonald had a farm?

What's so special about carrots though? You don't see anyone asking for broccoli cake or turnip cake...

So, why do carrots get to be special?

I really wish there was a way that I could rename android applications... Or, even just give them an alias.

I mean, how the fuck are we supposed to remember what the fuck all of these things are?

I don't give a fuck about your fucking Internet brand. I just want to find the fucking app for dental insurance, or my fucking bank account, or the app for my fucking door locks.

Ugh.

Jack outside the box

How many fucks would a woodfuck give if a woodfuck could fuck wood?

It's kinda funny reading about ergonomic keyboard designs, because every online community related to the topic seems to form around agreeing on one solution, and they tend to act like every other group is a bunch of psychos who have gone too far.

Holy shit, I can't believe this is working!

I am now generating trace paths (for the rows, I haven't started on the columns yet but that will be easy now).

This is fucking cool. All of this is based on a json document defining the key layout.

Well, it is only a mock up and I only printed one side, but I feel pretty good about the layout... I may tweak a few things though.

The conductive filament test was a big failure. That's too bad, but not a big surprise.

That's okay, I have alternatives to try.

She's got a serated edge, that she moves back and forth

I'm still working on my keyboard project, even though I've ordered a svalboard since the svalboard will never be portable.

But, I'm reconsidering the layout because my thumbs have been incredibly sore lately and relying on thumb keys that heavily won't help.

Not sure what to do instead though...

I'm going to be really fucking annoyed with myself when I have this keyboard design done and perfected and then finally get a svalboard, because I know that's what's going to happen.

For anyone who wants to play with designing their own keyboard, this tool is AMAZING!

https://shield-wizard.genteure.com/

It lets you import a layout from KLE-NG or ergogen, etc and will guide you through generating a ZMK configuration for your board.

It isn't perfect... It doesn't allow editing the layout, and it gets confused about order if your keys are rotated. But, with some tweaking and manually editing the "debug json" I got it working beautifully.

I haven't got the wiring figured out yet, but I need to start doing some test prints so I can actually try the layout.

So, here we go! I'm going to install actual switches and caps on this, and then decide what adjustments I need to make.

I will likely be manually creating the paths for the wire channels, so I want the layout pretty close before I get started.

I don't know much about Cinco de Mayo

At the very last second, I can change direction. Turn completely around if I feel so inclined.

I did a test print with channels for the row traces cut into the bottom of the board. I then used cooper tape, pressed it into the channels and then attempted to cut away the excess.

It didn't turn out great, but the results are still promising. I think if I adjust the shape of the channel it will work really well.

It needs sharp corners, so I can easily use a razor to trim it. It seems to make really good contact with the socket, and diode legs.

The more I play with keyboards and look at different approaches people take to reducing hand pain, the more I keep thinking that a svalboard is actually the right solution...

I mean, I haven't tried one, and just buying a kit that requires 3D printing many parts would run about $450!!

But, I really like the hand position, the limited movement required, and the trackballs.

Sadly, one of my biggest goals is portability, and I don't see how to make those mesh. A svalboard is NOT portable.

I think I've talked myself into a 42 key layout...

Basically the Atreus but with a few things moved a bit...

I think I have worked out the layout I want for my keyboard (6 columns, with 4 keys each, in a splayed layout, with 2 thumb keys, mirrored, home row mods, qwerty with a few keys that don't fit on an extra layer).

I also think I've figured out the physical construction I'm going to use...

Can anyone tell me if a BL-5B battery (the style that old nokia phones used) which is a 3.7v 1020mAh battery will work with nice!nano controller?

One interesting concept that I have seen mentioned a handful of times while researching keyboard layouts is a repeat key.

Basically, a key that just repeats the last key you pressed with the same modifiers.

So, backspace, arrow keys, page up or down, etc become easier to repeat, especially if your layout requires multiple key presses for some keys.

I like this, but want to extend it to have pairs. Like, if I hit down I want to be able to repeat that but easily hit up as well.