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The Deep Rabbit Hole of DIY Small Ergonomic Keyboards
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The Deep Rabbit Hole of DIY Small Ergonomic Keyboards

Reviung keyboard variantsReviung keyboard variants

The following poem, created using Google Gemini AI :robot:, chronicles my journey into the world of DIY ergonomic keyboards. It documents my (changing) preferences and opinions, as well as a curated list of resources I’ve found useful over the past three years.

:keyboard: Warning :keyboard: The following verses are probably completely incomprehensible to normal people and can be interpreted as a sign of my descent into madness. :scream: So I guess the main purpose of this is to serve as a time capsule for my future self. :shrug:

The symphony sounds like a clap,
My fingers dance wildly and freely on the keys.
Pain in the wrists whispers, thumbs start to cry,
But QMK and ZMK, my coding lullaby.

I will openly state that I have no blueprints of my own,
Open source is my passion, a passion I like to share.
From forty-two keys to thirty-four, I wander,
Ergonomics is my mantra, soldering is my ohm.

Although productivity is my goal, it is a clever disguise,
For distraction, there is the siren, with a cable tie soldered to each wire.
Miryoku’s magic, dual functions divine,
(Secrets revealed, just click these lines!)

Colemak’s my layout, a personal twist,
With one-shot shift, number layer, quick kiss from nav.
But Backspace, the wanderer, wanders about with a whim,
While Enter, Tab and Esc are sidelined.

Thumb pain can be banished, the embrace of a firmware,
One-shot keys fly into the air, a fast-paced, thumb-saving chase.
(Pascal’s Insights, The Grace of a Guiding Star)
No more keys to hold down, just a gentle tap.

Dynamic Macros, QMK’s gift so great,
Repetitive tasks disappear like sandcastles.
Repeat the rhythm of the key, countless combos,
Misfires are a thing of the past, an old legend.

Macros always ready, every keystroke a pleasure,
My keyboard layout is a symphony, shining so brightly.
(But heed this warning before you investigate)
(This snapshot is out of date, there’s always more.)

3D printing and soldering, a delight for the tinkerer,
Light switches, a soft melody.
Or heavy and sturdy, a solid address,
Together with key-loving comrades, who fuel this resounding success.

MinidoxMinidox
Toy sheep used for keyboard tents.
1 month of Colemak progress1 month of Colemak progress
My First Month with the Colemak Keyboard Layout: ~Progression in typing speed in one month: moving from QWERTY to Colemak, with a short week using the intermediate “Tarmak” layouts.