Why Would I Write

  • One Week on Ortho

    One Week on Ortho

    So, I finally received my Planck keyboard and I’ve been using them on and off for over a week so I thought I’d write a quick post about it just because I haven’t written anything this week.

    For those of you who don’t know, the Planck is a 40% ortholinear keyboard – which means the keys aren’t staggered like a regular keyboard (look at how A is slightly to the right of Q, Z is slightly to the right of A and so on), the keys are lined up in a grid instead. This is supposedly better in terms of ergonomics, but since I haven’t had any issues typing on staggered layouts all these years, I don’t really feel the difference. However, this grid layout introduces a new problem for me (which I assume will go away with time) – muscle memory.

    Maybe I’m just a slow learner but I’m having a lot of trouble adapting to the Planck layout. I find myself hitting the wrong keys even if I look at the keyboard to type just because my hands automatically reach out to hit the keys when I have a word to type. It gets annoying when you have to use backspace multiple times while writing a single sentence. Because of this issue, I find myself not using the Planck as much as I’d like to. Other than that, I have no qualms about the keyboard. Initially I had some trouble remapping the keys due to a problem with the QMK configurator site, but since that has been sorted out, everything is fine and dandy, the way I like it.

    In terms of build quality – you get what you pay for. I bought the EOTW (easy on the wallet) version of the board because I wanted to try out the layout, and for how cheap it was, I thought it was worth it. The EOTW plates are gorgeous, and so is the PCB. Definitely one of the nicest looking PCBs I’ve seen for a keyboard. The form factor is great – I love how light and tiny it is, though it might feel a little fragile due to the lack of a case (which can be easily solved by spending more money).

    Overall – at least based on my short experience with the Planck, I think ortho is not for me. That being said – for people who have issues using staggered layouts, this could be a viable option for a more ergonomic keyboard. At this point in time, I see no benefits to relearning how I type so I don’t think I’ll be an ortho user in the future. That being said, I’m still going to continue using it over the next few months. If my typing doesn’t improve on it, I’ll just turn it into a giant macropad or try to flip it.

  • Gift Cards Are Worse Than Cash

    There’s something that I’ve been wondering about for a long time – why do people think gift cards are a great idea?

    Buying someone a gift card assumes that the recipient:

    1. still wants something from the shop you bought it from
    2. is willing to travel to the shop
    3. before the gift card expires

    You’re basically making your recipient do work for his or her own present – when you could have just given them the gift in the first place. So you say, you don’t know what the recipient wants – why not just give them cash?

    Cash is flexible – because it is not tied to a store, it can be spent anywhere and on anything – they don’t have to travel to an inconvenient or faraway location to purchase something. It doesn’t expire, so if the recipient doesn’t want to spend it, he or she can just save it for something else. There is no way a gift card can be better than cash. If a store offers discounts for people buying using gift cards – the recipient can just purchase those gift cards to get what they want since they’ll be going to that store anyway.

    Of course, gift cards can be used as jokes – i.e. giving a vegan gift cards to a popular steak restaurant – the recipient will either end up not spending it (wasting your money) or giving it away (which I guess is a good thing, since you gave them a present to gift for free).

    I can’t think of a situation where presenting someone with gift cards is better than giving them cash.

  • 7 months and done

    Last Sunday was a momentous date for me because of two things: I finally understood the feeling of rooting for a team and watching them win a tournament (all the other times I’ve felt like I’ve always cursed the team I supported by watching them). Virtus fucking Pro won the KL Major and I couldn’t be happier for them. FIrst Valve-sanctioned major of the season, and my favorite team ever since they put on a hero pool clinic at The Summit 7. That tournament turned me into a fan of the team. Anyway, I don’t want to bore anyone with the specifics, but they put on a great show and I hope to see them continue winning in the coming months. The best part about the event was probably walking around in a Virtus Pro hoodie because everyone at the venue seemed to be a Secret fan (there was a Malaysian player in their squad) – I enjoyed those salty tears.

    Secondly – I’ve finally finished my Minoxidil course. All six bottles. It took me seven months, but I’m finally done with having to apply liquid on my face twice a day. Feels good not to be burdened by a regiment anymore. On the downside, I see no significant improvement to the state of my beard. I guess you just can’t make hair grow when there were no hair follicles to begin with. Where do I go from here? Well, at least I know Minoxidil doesn’t work for me and my next course of action would be hair transplants so… yeah, I’m not that bothered or desperate enough – looks like I’ll just have to live my life with a patchy, unimpressive beard. Oh well. On the bright side, it is more facial hair than some of my friends can grow.

    Seven months ago, I also purchased my first Topre keyboard. The HHKB Pro 2 is still one of my favorite boards to type on. The sound, tactility, and layout – all amazing. I have yet to come across a better typing experience. Recently there have been rumors about an upcoming HHKB Pro 3, so I’m looking forward to that. Assuming there are significant changes to warranty an upgrade. My wish list? MX-compatible stems, built-in programmability. They could keep everything else the way it is and I’d be happy. I know people would like stuff like USB C (I’m not looking forward to having to buy more cables to replace the ones I currently own), heavier domes (an option would be nice, I’m not sure if I’d enjoy something heavier but I would definitely try them out), metal casing (I am honestly a fan of the keyboard’s plastic case – its sound signature and weight would be very different if it wasn’t made from plastic), and Bluetooth (a fine option as long as it’s optional).

    In recent keyboard news, my Planck has finally arrived (after a long-ass wait) and I’m personally not the biggest fan of it. I’ll definitely have to spend more time typing on it. I know it’s not a popular opinion but at the moment, I feel that learning to type using an ortholinear board seems way more trouble than it’s worth. It seems very likely that I’ll be turning it into a giant macropad or selling it off. Will give it a thorough chance before I do that.