cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11676258

The Nocturnal Ambient switches are insanely quiet. I am typing at normal speed now that I moved the keys up one row so that it matches my Planck. A much more familiar layout, a much softer approach to typing, I still miss the tactile bump feedback, which is what makes typing satisfying, but this has been an incredible experience so far. So smooth, so soft, and just so sleek and ergonomic.

Now that I've completed my article for work, I find myself trying to find things to type and write about. It just feels so good to write this way.

The Nocturnal Ambient switches are insanely quiet. I am typing at normal speed now that I moved the keys up one row so that it matches my Planck. A much more familiar layout, a much softer approach to typing, I still miss the tactile bump feedback, which is what makes typing satisfying, but this has been an incredible experience so far. So smooth, so soft, and just so sleek and ergonomic.

Now that I've completed my article, I find myself trying to find things to type and write about. It just feels so good to write this way.

Test writing on a new and improved Voyager that has the Nocturnal key switches. As intended, I am using the uGreen stand to see if the Nocturnal switches work the best when one can hover one's hands over a tented keyboard. So far the main benefit seems to be that it is very silent. But it doesn't give the kind of feedback I have come to appreciate with my Kahli silver. That is also a very silent and light weight switch, one that people have complained in the past as too easy to accidentally activate keys. This one is completely different. It is muffled, there is barely any feedback to enjoy. While I am not accidentally activating any keys, I am very tired trying to find a way to sense where the keys are and also to enjoy the fact that I am using a mechical keyboard. Now I am trying to type without using the uGreen stand, and it feels much more comfortable again. I am now going to switch to the Planck to see how I feel compared to this keyboard.

My Planck has a different switch now

Had a great time pulling out the Voyager on a tram today, typing up some deep thoughts on a 40 min ride. It was quite comfortable, though I had to balance my backpack a bit. Very soothing to have a fun keyboard around to process on the road thoughts.

So I also decided to test out a tented split mechanical keyboard called the ZSA Voyager. I've bought from this Taiwanese company before, first the EZ Planck (now out of production), then the Moonlander (returned it after a few weeks, as it did not work well with my hands), and now the Voyager.

So far, I think the strength of this keyboard is the ability to tent it up however you like so that the hand is in a relaxed vertical ''handshake''. I bought the reddit recommended uGreen magnetic phone holder (it is very sturdy), and am so far enjoying how my thumbs feel when the keyboard is steeply slanted. When the keyboard is completely flat, the thumbs are easily fatigued as they need to stretch out to reach the two thumb clusters and also to hover or rest.

I am very relieved that out of the box, with only adjustments to the thumb keys, I was able to exceed my expected speed and accuracy in no time.

![](https://lazysoci.al/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffeddit.org%2Fpictrs%2Fimage

I'm brainstorming a story based on an interview. The interview is running in the background on my laptop while I pick up quotes and jot down ideas around it with the Micro journal rev 6.

No more writer's block-- writing on this was a dream.

The main problem, however, is that you can't scroll back to read earlier content after 2000 characters. YES. THE SCREEN BUFFER ONLY ALLOWS 2000 CHARACTERS AT A TIME. The text is not lost, but it no longer shows up after you've rebooted or exited to the menu page and came back or after syncing!

This is devastating for me and honestly a bit of a deal breaker. I left an issue on the github page to see if there's any way I could access, read at least, or edit past texts.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11199149 (now updated with Lee's response)

Featuring two Planck keyboards.

I didn't think I'd ever be able to buy a Micro Journal make, given how popular the models are (they are all homemade by Um Kyu Lee in Italy and they literally fly off the shelves within minutes of each drop).

But somehow, I managed to snag the one I like the most, the Micro journal Rev 6 (rev 2 is a close contender) after I'd already given up and bought the Palma 1 to pair with my Planck EZ. I felt rather guilty buying a Micro journal based on a Planck keyboard.... in fact, technically I already have everything I need to make my own version of the Rev 6: raspberry pi, external battery, Planck, three types of small screens compatible with Rpi. But I don't have the time to figure out how to encase it into a bona fide cyberdeck and my coding skills are subpar. So I eventually relented and bought the Palma on sale. Well... a few days later, I scored a Micro J

I didn't think I'd ever be able to buy a Micro Journal make, given how popular the models are (they are all homemade by Um Kyu Lee in Italy and they literally fly off the shelves within minutes of each drop).

But somehow, I managed to snag the one I like the most, the Micro journal Rev 6 (rev 2 is a close contender) after I'd already given up and bought the Palma 1 to pair with my Planck EZ. I felt rather guilty buying a Micro journal based on a Planck keyboard.... in fact, technically I already have everything I need to make my own version of the Rev 6: raspberry pi, external battery, Planck, three types of small screens compatible with Rpi. But I don't have the time to figure out how to encase it into a bona fide cyberdeck and my coding skills are subpar. So I eventually relented and bought the Palma on sale. Well... a few days later, I scored a Micro Journal rev 6. It's been nothing short of orgasmic typing on this thing.

--- Selling a new Palma, skip if not interested ----

W

As pictured, I now have a Palma 1 + Planck EZ writer deck setup.

Delighted by this Pikachu bundle: yellow Gameboy Pocket + Pikachu Gameboy Light screen (IPS mod) + Pikachu yellow cart. Modded by a Taiwanese local who goes by Mr Blue (藍).

And... I did it, boys.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/10300503

So.... I went to a DIY market today and found this guy selling restored and modded Gameboys. Couldn't get over the cuteness factor here-- a Gameboy Pocket modded with the backlit screen of a Gameboy Light Pokémon, with two USB-C rechargeable batteries included. It came with the game, which I test played and loved.

I then randomly drew four games, the whole thing coming down to about 95 euros.... yes... I know that I totally overpaid, but I'm brand new to the modding market and otherwise don't have the drive or time to find reliable sources in my area. Very happy to get One Piece, Tetris, and Doraemon (but not the meaningless horse race betting game) in the draw, but it's all in Japanese! Will have to figure this out.

I was super excited to see GBA Rhythm Heaven offered from mint condition to second hand, but the guy was selling them for at least 22 euros and I had to get a Gameboy Advance to pl

This guy restores old Gameboys, in some cases, upgrading the screen to have backlights (warmth and brightness). They're adorable. But they're also between 50-80 euros (including a game).

This is a hard one. I am now staying with my mother, who is a very successful professional that is also a hoarder. She goes to the extreme when it comes to frugality, tearing apart old tshirts and towels to turn into rags that are then used for decades. She gave me leftover baby soap from 1989 for my baby, born in 2023.

It thus feels awful to, under her roof, quietly order not two, but three new gadgets for a dream writerdeck, on top of what I already have (a planck keyboard that was on the expensive end as it came preassembled, a raspberry pi 4000 with a cyberdeck extension, a raspberry pi 4 with a long, narrow screen). A just got the now-discounted Boox Palma 1 and a new low-profile ortholinear split-keyboard, AND because i couldn't bear the chance of missing a Micro Journal drop, the rev.6, which is itself a raspberry pi powered planck keyboard and eink device (aka what I wanted to build myself but failed because I didn't have the energy in me to learn and invest in 3D printing).

Since nobody could answer this question for me on the interwebs, I'm posting my solution here. I have a customized Planck keyboard layout with no capslock key, yet somehow on my Android (Pixel phone), I could only type in all caps. LIKE A SILLY PERSON. The problem wasn't my keyboard, as I was able to type correctly once it was connected to a laptop. So here is how I solved the problem:

1. use on-screen keyboard (I use a G-board) on my phone to check that indeed, capslock was on for some reason
2. go to physical keyboard under settings and select the option to change modifying keys.
3. change the capslock so something I have on the board, like alt, change alt to capslock so that the two shortcuts don't fight with each other
4. use the alternative key, in my case, alt, to turn off capslock. change the keys back.

All done!

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/9759283

I had the great pleasure to accidentally discover one of the oldest typewriter shops in the world. Since 1930, 95 years and going, the owner is the grandson of the original founder. Having just revived my Planck EZ writerdeck set-up, it was of course a delicious treat to take in the whole range of antique typewriters displayed and sold at the shop (which also does repairs).

I am especially attracted to the 1958 Herme Baby and this absolutely adorable children's typewriter.

We also played with a modern T 180 DS Plus electric typewriter-- one still produced and sold-- and looked up some USB typewriter options (imagine that, having a digital copy saved up while typing up the original instead of printing out a copy after typing up the digital!).

This was a much-needed treat because I haven't studied German for more than half a month and it was a great disappointment to many that I didn't have the right kind of linguistic

I had the great pleasure to accidentally discover one of the oldest typewriter shops in the world. Since 1930, 95 years and going, the owner is the grandson of the original founder. Having just revived my Planck EZ writerdeck set-up, it was of course a delicious treat to take in the whole range of antique typewriters displayed and sold at the shop (which also does repairs).

I am especially attracted to the 1958 Herme Baby and this absolutely adorable children's typewriter.

We also played with a modern T 180 DS Plus electric typewriter-- one still produced and sold-- and looked up some USB typewriter options (imagine that, having a digital copy saved up while typing up the original instead of printing out a copy after typing up the digital!).

This was a much-needed treat because I haven't studied German for more than half a month and it was a great disappointment to many that I didn't have the right kind of linguistic skills to communicate during today's team meeting.

As my colleagu

I found my dusty old EZ Planck, a 40% keyboard from ZAS I bought during the second year of the pandemic. That was the height of my writerdeck craze. I subsequently got a Raspberry Pi 400 and then some small screens and then got my hands on a Raspberry Pi 3 after the pandemic shortage ended, trying to built my own deck in different ways. The big problem was that I got ambitious. I wanted to learn Linux. So I set up a whole system that I no longer have access to because it was complicated, I only played with it for half a year, and I plainly forgot.

So here I am, triggered by a discussion of Microjournals, back to the basics of writing, with my Planck keyboard and a USB cord and an old smartphone...

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/9659718

I've had this book for quite some while. My presence in Austria and exposure to philosophers working on Nazi-era biologists made me realize that a few of the historical German biologists that I've come to know and admire are actually successful and/or famous because they collaborated or are part of the Nazi rule over science.

It was wonderful that this author decided to take a year of leave from teaching biology to conduct the research needed to write up this dissertation. And now, more than ever, is the time to read it.

"This study is an attempt to answer the question of how National Socialist politics and ideology influenced the development of biological research at the universities and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes in Germany." -- p.1

In the foreword by Deichmann's dissertation advisor Benno Müller-Hill, who supervised the work, and the author's introduction, we learn that 13% biologists were dismissed between

I've had this book for quite some while. My presence in Austria and exposure to philosophers working on Nazi-era biologists made me realize that a few of the historical German biologists that I've come to know and admire are actually successful and/or famous because they collaborated or are part of the Nazi rule over science.

It was wonderful that this author decided to take a year of leave from teaching biology to conduct the research needed to write up this dissertation. And now, more than ever, is the time to read it.

"This study is an attempt to answer the question of how National Socialist politics and ideology influenced the development of biological research at the universities and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes in Germany." -- p.1

In the foreword by Deichmann's dissertation advisor Benno Müller-Hill, who supervised the work, and the author's introduction, we learn that 13% biologists were dismissed between 1933-38, mostly for racial reasons, that 75% of those were able to

edit: I'll be writing about my thoughts in the comments of the original post

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/9648876

A stroller walk and a 1.5 nap bought me a precious two chapters into these exciting new books.

#Language of Climate Politics

The "Language of Climate Politics" caught my eye because the author quote posted a comment on Bluesky that her book is the best of the genre. As someone trained in philosophy, psychology, and biology at a graduate level and now working in the field of science & institutional communication, I've always been fascinated by the way concepts/conceptions/words move people.

If you already know a bit about the reality of man-made climate change and the different ways people react to it (from denial to alarmist to optimistic to neutral to doomist), it's useful to skip directly to the final pages of chapter 1 "How to Talk about the Thread of Climate Change-- And the Fight to Phase Out Fossil Fuels". Threading the tight line