The deep rabbit hole of DIY small ergonomic keyboards

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

:keyboard: Warning :keyboard: The following verses are likely entirely incomprehensible for normal people, and could 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:

Clackety-thock goes the symphony,
My fingers dance on keycaps, wild and free.
Wrist aches whisper, thumbs start to cry,
But QMK and ZMK, my coding lullaby.

No blueprints of my own, I’ll openly declare,
Open source is my love, a passion I readily share.
From forty-two keys to thirty-four, I roam,
Ergonomics my mantra, soldering my ohm.

Though productivity’s my aim, it’s a clever disguise,
For distraction’s the siren, with each soldered wire’s ties.
Miryoku‘s magic, dual functions divine,
(Secrets unveiled, just click on these lines!)

Colemak‘s my layout, a personalized twist,
With one-shot shift, number layer, nav’s quick kiss.
But Backspace, the wanderer, roams with a whim,
While Enter, Tab, and Esc are lost on a limb.

Thumb pain be banished, a firmware’s embrace,
One-shot keys take flight, a swift, thumb-saving chase.
(Pascal’s insights, a guiding star’s grace,)
No more held keys, just a gentle tap’s space.

Dynamic macros, QMK’s gift so grand,
Repetitive tasks vanish, like castles in sand.
Repeat key‘s rhythm, combos untold,
Misfires banished, a legend of old.

Macros at the ready, each keystroke’s delight,
My keymap’s a symphony, shining so bright.
(But heed this warning, before you explore,)
(This snapshot‘s outdated, there’s always more.)

3D prints and soldering, a tinkerer’s glee,
Feather-light switches, a soft melody.
Or weighty and firm, a thocky address,
With key-loving comrades, fueling this clacking success.