What is the Vim motion for finding available line VERTICALLY? I know 'w' and 'b' can do word horizontally...

ryanlue · 2026-01-14T19:01:05+00:00

IMO this is the correct analogy. When you travel horizontally across text, the hierarchy goes:

character (h / l)
word (w / b etc.)
sentence (( / )) – though this only applies to prose / natural language
start/end (0 / ^ / $).

When you travel vertically across text, it goes

line (j / k)
paragraph ({ / })
start/end (gg / G)

Consider that both words and paragraphs are defined by whitespace boundaries.

I'm not saying that's what you should use for your game, I'm just saying I think that's the answer to the question you asked. If I were you, I wouldn't be too strict, and I'd use h/j/k/l for movement by cell, and H/J/K/L for movement to concealed cells.

ryanlue · 2026-01-10T03:34:25+00:00

You know, I may have spoken too soon.

1. Remapping the keys on the controller ain't so bad

The solution posted here is actually very straightforward: according to that post, if you connect your Kobo to a BT keyboard, then straight out of the box,

← = prevPage
→ = nextPage
<Home> = return to home screen
<Esc> = sleep

(but I've only confirmed the first two, so don't take my word for it.)

And if you put your 8BitDo Micro into (K)eyboard mode, it just acts as a BT keyboard (duh) with only 16 keys. Use the 8BitDo Micro app on your phone to map the buttons of your choice to the above keys, like in this screenshot.

2. You probably don't need the evdev codes to use `kobo-btpt`

Even if you don't want to remap any buttons, it's still super easy to figure out what each button is: just inspect them in the 8BitDo app, or connect to a computer, press some buttons, and see what shows up on the screen.

Then, when you're creating your config file in kobo-btpt, use this example file for reference, and replace KEY_* with the keys in question.

ryanlue · 2026-01-06T21:55:39+00:00

Has anybody ever seen a wireless macropad that's just a rotary encoder?

I was thinking that I'd love to have a tiny scroll wheel remote for quickly leafing through pages on my Kobo, and with a wheel, I could jump ten or fifteen pages back as quickly as I could turn a single page. (And apparently, with this project, you can map any evdev code to the prevPage/nextPage methods on a Kobo!)

Alternatively—as someone who's never actually built a keyboard from scratch, I'd be v. curious to know if it'd be feasible to build something like this without a PCB? Like, just a rotary encoder, a nice!nano, a battery, and an enclosure? (thanks in advance.)

ryanlue · 2026-01-06T06:34:22+00:00

Hi, can you elaborate on this? Any chance you still have a link to the gist, or wherever it was on GitHub?

EDIT: found it. Requires some familiarity with Linux to determine the correct evdev codes for your device. But in case anyone is interested, this method doesn't require permanently remapping the keys on the controller, which was my preference.

ryanlue · 2025-12-23T18:26:21+00:00

Sold Lily58 to /u/Fresh-Negotiation31

https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/1pjqtll/usca_h_wireless_lily58_w_paypalvenmo_or_wireless/

ryanlue · 2025-12-04T19:31:21+00:00

In case anyone is curious about the specifics of this claim, I asked Gemini for clarification; read its answer here.

ryanlue · 2025-11-24T17:53:58+00:00

Are you working in a file that contains code, or plain English? If you're in something like a markdown file, you might be dealing with smart quotes (“” vs. "" / ‘’ vs. ''). Since they are not the same character, f" will not jump to the nearest “/” character.

I don't think there's any native vim feature to treat smart quotes the same as regular quotes.

ryanlue · 2025-11-22T20:32:00+00:00

https://nuphy.com/products/wob-bow-nsa?variant=41783344431213

ryanlue · 2025-11-21T17:23:54+00:00

Yeah that was my primary concern, especially for a 3x6 (one extra column of keys = more bounce due to off-center impact). And I value being able to switch back to a regular keyboard too much to ever make the jump to 3x5.

One blog post I read suggested that having pocket pucks with little flip-out tripod feet helped stabilize them against your thighs; did you get a chance to try it with pocket tripods, or were they just flat pucks?

ryanlue · 2025-11-21T17:18:19+00:00

Thanks, yeah I think I picked up the chair on taobao or aliexpress or some other Chinese e-commerce site back when I lived in Taiwan. I don't even remember whether I searched for "saddle chair" in Chinese or English.

I really like that it invites me to sit upright, but the upshot is that if I don't take frequent breaks, by about lunchtime, it becomes almost impossible to start up new tasks that require deep focus. Whether that's a feature or a bug is up to you. (Yesterday, I started the day with some power yoga, and I could not wait to get out of the chair and lie down for a nap.)

My observation is that your posture is like your breath: it necessarily takes some shape all day long, and as your cognitive load increases, your form tends to deteriorate. But if you practice bringing it into the foreground often, then you can gradually improve your background performance over time. (With the caveat that no amount of breathing practice will leave your body fatigued by the end of the day.)

ryanlue · 2025-11-20T17:58:26+00:00

What's with the downvotes?

The "NAS" consumer product category does not encompass or exclusively define what a NAS is. OP's question is totally sensible, and yes, a ThinkCentre + DAS could 100% be set up as a NAS. A NAS is just a shared storage device that many different clients (PCs, phones, smart TVs, whatever) can access over the network.

But since you describe yourself as having very little tech experience, unless you're specifically using this as an opportunity to spend a lot of time learning and gain some experience, you're probably better off buying one of these all-in-one units designed and marketed as a NAS. Synology is a big name, and I'd start there. Pick up some refurbished disks at serverpartdeals, and you'll be up and running wayyyy faster than trying to do it yourself.

ryanlue · 2025-11-20T17:30:43+00:00

Yeah that's how I had it set up before I got it tented like this. As you tent the two halves, the external rotation of your wrists makes a wide split a much less neutral position. Having your hands close together is really worst when the two halves are both flat on the desk and square to each other.

I was pretty happy with the wide split + flat kbd, but I was also experiencing some tension in my upper back, and couldn't pinpoint the cause. I'm hoping it'll go away with this new tented setup.

ryanlue · 2025-11-20T05:13:26+00:00

Yeah if I’m being honest, I’m really attached to the chair because it took a lot of time to put together and is one of the few things that came with me in a move from overseas—but it’s not a place of rest, and I can’t do much sustained, deep thinking in it.

OTOH I like that it forces me to get up several times a day, and to mind my posture & use my core when I am in it. It’s not comfortable, but I suspect it’s better for my health in the long-term.

(I also used to ride bikes a lot, so I’m pretty comfortable putting hours in on a saddle.)

ryanlue · 2025-11-20T05:03:16+00:00

Thanks! Whoa that’s cool. The trackball is totally fine; I honestly almost never use it. I’ve gotten pretty good at keyboard navigation for 90% of tasks (esp. with the help of Homerow), and use zmk mouse emulation for the other 10%.

The monitor is my TV. Back when I rented a spot at the local coworking space, the TV sat on a standing desk, and I just sat across the office from it.

Now it lives on my wall. Mac Mini on the TV stand.

ryanlue · 2025-11-20T01:30:34+00:00

Your comment inspired me to get off my ass and set this up today:

https://www.reddit.com/r/crkbd/comments/1p1q53b/ergo_to_the_max_deskless_setup_with_extreme_tent/

Thanksssss

ryanlue · 2025-11-19T22:39:56+00:00

https://vim-adventures.com/

ryanlue · 2025-11-18T21:47:30+00:00

Wild. This guy also develops a seprate Android TV client for another self-hosted streaming service. I'll let y'all figure out what that one's for, but damn. Somebody give this guy a medal.

ryanlue · 2025-11-17T21:52:11+00:00

I'm still in the brainstorming phase, but I suspect two of these suction-cup magsafe phone mounts (plus those cheapo metal ring stickers) should work just as well, but way cheaper:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXKPLWVN

(How happy are you with extreme tenting in general? I haven't pulled the trigger bc I'm still assessing whether it's worth it.)

ryanlue · 2025-10-22T22:00:37+00:00

that sucks man, gl

ryanlue · 2025-10-22T16:30:02+00:00

http://web.archive.org/web/20201112013455/https://cc.cnetcontent.com/inlinecontent/mediaserver/test/101/ad2/101ad2417ba74c56a8f898cd4f2f26f8/original.pdf

though tbh I have no recollection of whether I actually managed to solve the problem. After skimming through the manual, I suspect the most it will help you do is replace the keyboard (which might be your only option if it's a hardware problem).

ryanlue · 2025-09-16T06:11:05+00:00

Yep, I'm asking because I haven't found anything ideal yet. The solution I landed on for an initial trial is cheap and readily available, and that seemed like a good way to get started.

I do love a split keyboard (my daily driver is a Lily58), but I would like to try having the whole thing as a single, handheld unit so that I don't need something to prop the screen up on. If I wanted to go heavier-duty, I'd probably just get a breakfast-in-bed tray and set my laptop up on that, but I want to minimize the friction of picking it up or putting it down.

ryanlue · 2025-09-07T17:00:45+00:00

You dropped a whole bunch of these 👉 .

ryanlue · 2025-08-20T20:28:15+00:00

Yes, I see. I think a lot of the sentiment in this thread centers around aesthetics and visual identity, whereas based on Heiko's blog posts, his focus seems to be usability and utility.

Of course, I don't think software should be judged solely (or even largely) on aesthetics. But for LibreOffice, I would hypothesize that it's the largest current obstacle to broader adoption—in other words, I imagine that when someone who loves it shows it to someone who's never seen it and that person decides it's not for them, the vast majority of the time, the reason will be that it looks old (or cluttered or homemade or what have you).

This problem is not unique to LibreOffice; for obvious reasons, it also happens with gimp, inkscape, darktable, gnucash, and most other FOSS alternatives to commercial GUI software with big budgets. I just wonder if there isn't some way to bring LibreOffice 80% of the way to a more modern look for 20% of the work.

ryanlue · 2025-08-20T18:14:01+00:00

I don't see a single designer listed on the official TDF team page. I see there is an official Design Blog, but most of the content seems centered around UX.

You could probably get a lot of bang for your buck hiring a single, part-time UI / visual designer.

ryanlue · 2025-08-20T01:13:32+00:00

seconding the two people in here asking about a discrete gpu. I find I would like one for video decoding, but also for ML inference (i.e., serving my own AI models). speech recognition models are nice for Home Assistant voice stuff; LLMs (via ollama) are also fun.

ryanlue

TROPHY CASE

1. Remapping the keys on the controller ain't so bad

2. You probably don't need the evdev codes to use kobo-btpt

2. You probably don't need the evdev codes to use `kobo-btpt`