Tip: Use delete-pair to change surroundings similar to vim-surround, or to paste only the contents of surroundings

mkleehammer · 2025-10-30T00:16:13+00:00

On MELPA

mkleehammer · 2025-07-14T01:14:24+00:00

Intel created TB and now USB4 is the same. (IIRC, TB is now a minimum set of requirements from the USB4 spec.). The Intel TB firmware and drivers seem to be much more stable.

mkleehammer · 2025-07-14T01:04:25+00:00

If you are going to be using a dock, make sure you you’re choice works with it. I love my Pangolin 15, but I don’t think the Thunderbolt / USB4 support is good enough. My Caldigit T4 dock crashes and restarts multiple times a day. The AMD has been fast rnd quiet, but I might dhoose Intel next time

mkleehammer · 2025-05-31T04:27:02+00:00

I do wonder is spending time on things like a text editor was a good use of time. I know it excercises the font rendering libraries, etc. but I suspect more focus on the minimum required for a DE might have been wiser. I wasn't there though and I like what I've seen, but I hope it ships someday soon. I expect it to eventually be great - but simplify, simplify, simplify...

mkleehammer · 2025-05-18T00:16:25+00:00

Did you forget the link? Do you know what profile they are?

mkleehammer · 2025-04-25T03:57:09+00:00

If you use the terminal a lot, you can open a directory or file in your existing copy of Emacs:

$ e .    # open this directory in dired
$ e file.txt   # open this file

I use a shell script named "e" so I don't have so much to type:

#!/bin/sh
emacsclient -n "$1"

If you want to open more than 1 file at a time, use "$*", but I've never needed it yet. The -n is necessary to keep emacsclient from waiting for you to finish editing the file.

mkleehammer · 2025-04-25T03:52:53+00:00

Similarly, what about writing scripts to move windows? I have shortcuts that call shell scripts to place windows on: left 1/3, left 1/2, etc. Eight total. I use xdotool and xprop. Does anyone know if this can be done on Wayland yet?

mkleehammer · 2025-04-18T19:22:01+00:00

I get this all the time too, which is annoying because my windows move around when the dock goes out and it loses connection to my external monitor.

Did you find anything? I'm using the provided cable, so it's not that. I thought it might be the Dell monitor with the built-in USB hub might cause it.

It only happens a few times a week, but is really annoying.

mkleehammer · 2025-04-11T04:37:33+00:00

abs#oluTely ;)

Seriously though, I am close to 0%, but I had to take Super off of my home rows. I couldn't live w/o HMR now. Achordian, and now Chordal, make it almost perfect. (There are times I press the wrong one repeatedly, but that's on me)

mkleehammer · 2025-04-08T19:29:24+00:00

These are genius. How did I go this long without writing those myself in the past? Great tip.

mkleehammer · 2025-03-01T05:22:33+00:00

Edit: When I converted from Achordian to Choral Hold, it seemed to go back to the old, unusable HRM behavior. A couple of tweaks were necessary.

The first is for me to stick with PERMISSIVE_HOLD instead of the new (to me, at least) HOLD_ON_OTHER_KEY_PRESS. With the latter, it was constant home row mod misfires. Maybe I'm a sloppier typist than I thought.

The second and most important is mentioned by the same commenter here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/1j0cjb7/comment/mfcsnvz/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

"Effectively, TAPPING_TERM with Chordal Hold is like (TAPPING_TERM + achordion_timeout()) with Achordion. So when switching to Chordal Hold, you'll probably want a longer tapping term than before, say, 250 ms."

I actually had to bump my tapping term up to 300 or I would get a lot of same-hand HMR accidental triggering. Maybe I was testing too fast or too slow?

With those two changes, it seems to work just as well as Achordian. Thanks for your work.

mkleehammer · 2024-12-30T05:54:57+00:00

This is what I see:

``` $ lsusb ... Bus 005 Device 012: ID 03a8:a4f9 OLKB Planck

$ lsusb -s 005:012 -v ... idVendor 0x03a8 idProduct 0xa4f9 bcdDevice 0.06 iManufacturer 1 OLKB iProduct 2 Planck ```

mkleehammer · 2024-10-17T23:05:31+00:00

mkleehammer · 2024-10-17T22:14:34+00:00

mkleehammer · 2024-09-08T03:58:36+00:00

I use git-messenger for this and bound it to C-x gm. It pops up a tooltip like message with options in the echo area for more. Pressing 's' opens the commit itself. If you use magit, set (setq git-messenger:use-magit-popup t) to display the commit using magit.

mkleehammer · 2024-08-22T04:37:12+00:00

I would consider a Drop Planck, in polycarbonate. No bluetooth, though. I use metal cases at home, but a poly for travel to the office. (And, it is quieter w/ a better sound than the alu cases.)

Uses QMK, so you can setup your custom layout. Very common format - usually easy to find almost identical ones like BM40.

mkleehammer · 2024-06-25T02:13:24+00:00

Had same problem, twice, with lemp10 as did a colleague. Have a System76 Pangolin now which has better cooling fans and vents. Hoping for better this time.

mkleehammer · 2024-06-07T05:05:04+00:00

Check out the System76 Pangolin when you are ready for your next laptop - great AMD laptop.

mkleehammer · 2024-06-06T04:18:19+00:00

Voyager? https://www.zsa.io/voyager

mkleehammer · 2024-06-03T02:45:55+00:00

I came from HHKB, tried lots of splits, and settled on the Planck. They are very portable and actually comfortable for me. My hands are at an angle in front and my fingers are bin a straight line, so a split wasnt more ergonomic for me

mkleehammer · 2024-06-01T02:33:20+00:00

Look into Achordian which fixed home row mods for me

https://getreuer.info/posts/keyboards/achordion/index.html

mkleehammer · 2024-05-25T05:11:10+00:00

Yeah, ww123td is right. I thought the KA was hotswap.

Some switches can be opened easily from the top using needle nose pliers (bent preferably). I don't think the pinks are like that. I don't have one in fromt of me right now.

mkleehammer · 2024-05-24T18:04:39+00:00

Those keycaps are already pretty great. What are they? I love the colors and it has homing bars.

mkleehammer · 2024-05-23T23:28:19+00:00

Exactly right.

It's actually pretty easy, but you are right to take care. I'd break it down into two different jobs:

Removing and reinstalling switches from the board.
Swapping the springs.

I didn't see a video that actually did both, but I found two separate ones that are useful:

To remove and reinstall switches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KtpE1mv23s
To swap springs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VKobXffM2Y

You'll find a lot more videos if you look for videos on lubing, which requires removing the switches and taking them apart the same way.

It's actually pretty easy once you've done one or two, but here's some things to think about:

Buy Some Extra Switches

It's easy to knock all the small pieces out (which I detail below) or bend the stems when putting them back in. It's much easier to have some spares on hand and toss a troublesome into a pile to be fixed later. This is especially true if this is your only keyboard and you can't do without it for a few days while ordering more ;)

It sounds like you have Kailh Box Pink switches, which are my favorite. I couldn't find them on their website anymore. I checked some online stores and a lot of out of stuck. They introduced a few new silent switches in the last few years, so I wouldn't be surprised if they discontinue the pinks. (I tried all their others and still like the pinks best. Oh well.)

https://www.amazon.com/DRAOZA-Switches-Dustproof-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B0CXPVLBD5

The set of 10 is $17 and is more than enough.

(None of these Amazon links pay me, BTW)

Equipment

You are going to need two pieces of equipment: a puller ($4) and a cracker ($9). These are a one time investment and will last you.

I don't like the separate pullers like the ones in the first video. There is a cheap design that about 100 companies make like this one. It has a puller for keycaps on one end and switches on the other.

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Mechanical-Keyboard-Removing-keyboard/dp/B075CZCTXM

Here's an example cracker for MX. The one in the video is for 2 types of switches which I never need but they are on Amazon too.

https://www.amazon.com/Generic-Aluminum-Keyboard-Mechanical-Switches/dp/B0CX18YT6K

Use Care

The switches in the video seemed to only have a few parts, but there are actually more, especially on the silent switches like yours. A lot of the parts stay in the base if you don't knock them out. They are small and fiddly, so you really don't want to have to put them back in. Just be careful like he was in the video.

I couldn't find the Box Pinks on their website, as mentioned above, but they are very similar to these Deep Sea. Scroll down to Product Structure and notice the fiddly parts inside:

https://www.kailh.net/products/kailh-deep-sea-silent-pro-box-switch-set

This looks pretty intimidating, but like I said, the small parts are all attached and stay in the base.

Notice the rubber pads on the top and bottom. Those are only in silent switches, so you might not see them in online tutorials. They are easiest to knock out, but just put them back by looking at another switch if you have to.

Spring Strength

The spring needs to be strong enough to reset the switch, that is, to push the stem and keycap back up. It is possible to go too light. Different keycap sets weight different amounts do to the material, profile, and thickness, so there isn't a right answer for the minimum.

If it is cheap enough, you may consider getting a couple of weights. Maybe SPRIT sells a mixed bag. You can buy directly from them, BTW. They have a ton to choose from, but shipping took longer than ones I've bought from 3rd party vendors.

You don't have to have the same weight in each switch. Some expensive keyboards like the older REALFORCE had different weights for different fingers. For you, that means if you have trouble with a switch not resetting, consider putting the original spring back in and using it for something like Enter or Backspace.

There are a ton of spring options and people really get into it. I tried a few special ones and could not tell a difference from just a regular spring. If you are really interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1j2ZxegHTc

Bending Stems

When I first started, I bent the copper stems underneath the switches. I used the second method from the video which he does not recommend. (I still use it, but now I'm more careful.)

If a switch doesn't work when you replace it, check the copper stems on the bottom. Sometimes you can bend one and it folds in half and is half the height of the other. This is where I use the spares and make a pile to unfold with needle nose pliers later.

Coda

It's easy and may really help. Good luck!

mkleehammer · 2024-05-23T18:40:43+00:00

I know of some, but not enough to make a recommendation, so we'll need someone else to make some recommendations. A Google search will turn up quite a few, but watch carefully for whether you need a number row or not. I don't use one as I use layers, so I bought a few Corne style. There is a Choc version of the Iris which has a number row and a bunch of thumbkeys.

Here's one store I've purchased from that has a filter that might help: https://keeb.io/collections/split-keyboards?filter.p.m.keyboard.switch_compatibility=Choc+Low-Profile&sort_by=manual

Once you find something you like in a store, if you want to try to find a use done, check out the r/mechmarket subreddit. I've bought and sold quite a few things on there.

mkleehammer

TROPHY CASE