As we all settle into this new post-COVID reality, I find myself reflecting on the new challenges and opportunities that have presented themselves over the last few months...

Nah I'm just fucking with you, to be honest this blog really got away from me. Though it was partially because I got distracted by all these new life things that have happened! Similarly, I have a slew of new things I'd like to now do, and I'm going to try and write them down so they don't just remain as ideas in my head.

Things that have happened

In no particular order, here are some things I've been up to:

• Adopted a cat
• Worked on two major development projects simultaneously at work
• Put together my adjustable desk
• Learned NES development in assembly
• Actually got an NES
• Started building mechanical keyboards
• Cooked a lot (per usual)
• Decorated for Fall
• Started reading more (even finished a book!)
• Hung out with my partner (also per usual)
• Played a lot of Skyrim (modded!)
• Started journaling

Despite not being able to go anywhere or see my friends, I've been getting by. Relatively unscathed compared to others, since I still have a job and don't live alone. Still, I'm taking things one day at a time, and really trying enjoy exploring new hobbies and interests.

Building a keyboard was a big thing that I felt really proud of accomplishing! Here's what it looks like:

I normally use a 75% layout, so I've had to adjust to a 60%; the only thing I miss are primary arrow keys, but it's super easy to access them in the second layor with the Fn key, and I've had no trouble.

Things I'd like to happen

Here are some projects I'd like to start in some capacity:

• Update my blog site to use a nicer theme with a better font
• Update my website with a projects page
• Spend less time on social media
• Finish reading The Making of Prince of Persia
• Build more keyboards
• Eat more salads

Keyboards

I'll hopefully make another blog post about my deep dive into the hobby of mechanical keyboards, but I'm really focused on building one for my friend: I've ordered some great keycaps and am designing around that. I still need to decide on a case, but I think I'm going to go with bamboo...as for layout, going with a 60% since it's the easiest to find things for (the bamboo case I'm looking at is 60%); however, I am going to try and program the board to have primary arrow keys. Hardest part will be finding arrow keycaps that are 1.25u...The PCB will probably be a soldered one, so it's more or less "permanent".

I recently got a switch tester, so I'm using that to help me decide on the switches to put in. I have yet to think about the stabilizers, I just don't really know much about them...best practices, easiest to use, etc. I still need to figure that out. I also am not sure on the plate for the keyboard...not quite sure what sounds best with a bamboo case, so still figuring that out as well.

I have my work cut out for me with this project, but I'm really excited for it! My partner has also found some cute keycaps she likes, so when the group buy opens for them I'm going to start another project to build her something awesome.

Hacktoberfest

I'll be participating in Hacktoberfest this year, because I love the shirts. I'm hoping this will also be a great way to get more practice with using Python out in the real world. I have some already, but since I don't use it for work, I find myself getting rusty...especially because Wolfram Language is so different by comparison.

Indieweb

I want to leave Twitter...there I said it! I love just shouting into the void, but Mastodon doesn't provide me with the same kind of serotonin that Twitter does. Partially because all my friends are on Twitter, and not Mastodon. I want to learn more about the indieweb, and how to hook up my blog (this place!) with Twitter; there are a lot of syndication tools out there, and I got some good responses to my Twitter thread about it:

I want to get started with #indieweb what is the easiest way to do that? Esp wrt syndication tools

— the big cauchy/cosh(y) couch (@fourierfiend) September 10, 2020

I just haven't put in the time to move forward with it.

Assembly programming

I started learning NES development, then decided to take a course on programming the Atari 2600 which uses the same assembler. I took a break from it though, because I was feeling burnt out from coding. I'm a little worried about burnout again this month because of Hacktoberfest, but if I can manage it I want to finish my Atari course and get back to working on my NES implementation of Pong.

Final thoughts

I've done a lot and want to keep doing more! Keyboards are my biggest project right now, and recently an artist I like gave me some tips about showcasing any future work at local farmers markets (which has artisans there too); he said it'd be a good opportunity to showcase a couple of keyboards I built and from there tell people what I do! I think it would be cool in the future to offer keyboard assembly and repair services locally, but I'm not there yet. It's something I'm keeping in the back of my mind though...a little bit of extra money solely to help fund this hobby would be awesome, and I do get a huge satisfaction out of it all!