Melissa and I just got home. Laundry is going. Chores are getting done. We’re unpacked and unwinding, so now is a good time to get my October 23rd post finished.

In the car, between Reno and Sacramento, I told Melissa that today would probably be a “greatest hits” day, in that I would search all of my blog posts for ones specifically on writing and then put links and summaries here for them. I’ll do that tomorrow. I had packages waiting for me, so I’m going to go through all the things I have in front of me.

Keyboard Parts Arrived

The electronics and PCBs arrived, and I’m super excited to start soldering and getting this new keyboard built! There’s just one thing: I might have ordered the wrong parts?

When I started building these new keyboards from scratching, printing the base and hand wiring them, I started with the print files from Thingiverse. That seemed the best place to start, and it pointed me in the right directions to learn when I needed to learn. As I’m writing this, I’m still using the Michael Gallowglas keyboard, because it’s awesome and I’m still testing it to make sure it’s going to be satisfying for him.

With this new split keyboard design, I started in the same place. I downloaded the STLs and started printing right away. The prints came out fantastic. The bottom part is glow-in-the-dark and the top part is a mint green, which goes well with the bottom whether it’s glowing or not. All the parts fit together perfectly. I was stoked to buy the electronics and PCBs and get this thing going.

Unfortunately, I thought I printed an Ergodox base, but I think I printed a Redox base instead, which is smaller and shaped a little bit different. All the Ergodox electronics are here now, and it’s not going to fit in what I printed.

What I’m probably going to do is just find another actual Ergodox base to print and do that. Once I’ve finished that keyboard and I’m happy with it, I’ll do build another keyboard in the base I already have printed. There are some hand-wired options for it, which I might try. I’ll need more electronics, but that’s not a big deal.

The Speaker Stand Print Jobs

Just before Melissa and I headed to Oregon, I started building stands for two of my speakers in my office. I haven’t been able to hear them since I moved in here because they’re on the floor, underneath the futon. I want to elevate them above the futon, which meant shelves on the wall, or some other creative solution.

I chose the “some other creative solution” path, and it’s been fun. I designed some feet that can affix to 1/2″ dowels, and a shelf to sit on top of the dowels. The dowels were purchased for 5 bucks from Home Depot, and the parts on the top and bottom were designed by me and printed. It took a little trial and error, but I think I have it just right. The feet aren’t quite wide enough for stability, so I’ll glue them to some spare wood pieces I have laying around.

It’s a neat little project! The design of the shelf was giving me a little bit of problems, because it needs to be shaped just right to hold the speaker, but I thought I had it about 15 minutes before Melissa and I jumped in the car. Getting home, I can see that the shelf printed nicely, so I just have to print one more, plus the parts that affix it to the dowels. I might have that project finished tonight.

VR Headset

After seeing my doctor and hearing that I need about 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day if I want to live, I ordered a Meta Quest 2. It arrived the same night Melissa and I left, so it’s one more thing that was waiting for me when I got home. I’ve opened the box and it looks pretty easy to setup.

For some reason, I feel a little nervous around it. I don’t know why. I had a headset that my old phone plugged into, and that was fun. There’s something about this one, though, that intimidates me. Maybe it’s that it is deep in the Facebook/Meta ecosystem, when I’ve been trying to distance myself from Facebook. Maybe I’m nervous that my plan to use it to trick myself into exercising won’t work. I don’t know.

I’ve been following VR news for years. I’m excited about it, and I think it could be a major game changer if it continues to gain users. I think AR is going to be a more profound communication shift than VR, but VR has grown in popularity over the last few years and looks to continue to grow. I’m going to have fun with it.

I’m going to plug it in and let it charge. It takes hours for the print jobs to finish, so I’ll have a little bit of time to mess with it some tonight. Maybe I’ll finally try Beat Saber.

The Spare Man Arrived

I pre-ordered Mary Robinette Kowal’s book The Spare Man and it finally arrived while Melissa and I were away. I’m really looking forward to reading it.

Additionally, I purchased The Book of M by Peng Shephard and I want to try and read it before the end of the month.

I have a lot of reading to do, and a lot of writing preparation to do.

So that’s it. I’m home. The drive wasn’t too terrible, though the last stretch between Reno and Sacramento was a little frustrating. People don’t know how to drive. I need to keep the laundry going and make sure that we’re all prepared for the next work week. Hopefully it’ll be a lot easier than the last.