Beyond Oryx

Hi |FNAME|,

"Community" is such a loaded word. For real estate developers it sometimes seems to mean just "a bunch of houses close together". For some companies, it's maybe a Discord server or a forum where people can be loud. For me, it's talking to so many of you over email, and every now and then, being blown away by someone's passion and creativity. Someone like Pierre Poulain, featured below, who created a GitHub workflow that lets power users take their layout far beyond Oryx while still maintaining compatibility with Oryx and Keymapp. So cool.

On the hardware side, we have a wonderful post from Jo, who spent a week carefully cooking keycaps. I don't mean "cooking" metaphorically or mentally — she was using an actual pot. You can see why below.

This month I wrote an ode to my favorite pair of headphones which sound great, are affordable, and were easy for me to customize.

I really enjoyed the interview with Leon — it was interesting to read about his career journey; life can unfold in some surprising ways. And in the links section, my favorite by far is Wigmaker. I love idle clickers and spent way too long "testing" this one.

(Also, can you spot the Star Trek reference in this month's featured layout?)

All the best,
Erez

"I'm not very good at it, I think it's the kind of thing it takes a long time to get good at, but I kind of like that. I'm still learning."

- Josh Adams, ErgoDox EZ User

Going beyond Oryx

With a custom GitHub workflow

This new GitHub workflow from Pierre Poulain is an easy way to add custom QMK features to your Oryx layout. An exciting new level of customization, this is mainly for power users and people comfortable working with code. The post includes a video from Robin showing the workflow in detail.

How to color your keys

Keycaps to... dye for?

I never knew this, but it turns out you can actually dye keycaps at home, if they're made of PBT (like the keycaps on our boards). Jo takes you through this process step by step, ending up with a beautiful gradient. No expensive gear needed — just time and courage.

Featured User Interview

Leon Si

Developer/Content Creator

Leon's road to becoming a content creator went through a CTO role first, with a surprising assist from the Moonlander. What a ride!

"Currently, my most-viewed video is a video of me controlling my computer with just my keyboard, which somehow surpassed 25 million views on Instagram!"

Layout of the month

NCC-74656

Hey, I'm Chris - I work as an artist and game developer, and welcome to my layout! It takes inspiration from a few different places, starting with a popular template called Miryoku, and has undergone quite a bit of iteration. The result is a layout that supercharges whatever device I’m using. With the right shortcuts and hotkeys, you’d be surprised at how much you can get done with just the keyboard! This is a general-use layout that leans towards macOS, but works with Windows as well.

Things we liked

Wigmaker →

There is glamour and then there are wigs

This clean browser-based game (ad-free, and generally just free) starts out with “Create a beautiful wig” and takes it from there. In my short time with it I was able to create “a wig of very excellent intentions”, but then the game told me “there was an incident” and invited me to investigate. This was, of course, just the start.

Collecting Batteries →

A visual tour de... power

This clean and simple page meticulously documents Eric Wrobbel’s battery collection in several photos. Every battery on the page is named along with its voltage level and country of origin. The entire site is fascinating and contains many different collections, all beautifully presented.

Strings →

Pluck pluck strum

These are strings, on your screen. Like guitar strings, not like text strings. There are no instructions. You pluck the strings and they make sounds, and you can also draw new strings in arbitrary lengths and positions. There’s also a collection of songs it can play, like Stairway to Heaven.

Flight data visualized →

A map with colorful lines

This is an interactive map that lets you slice and dice flight data. Want to see balloon flights from all over the world, with detailed flight information? You got it. You can plot things by vertical speed, altitude, “Boeing vs. Airbus”, and lots of other categories. This is old data, not real time— it is just fun to look at it and ponder everything that’s in the air. Very granular and colorful.

One-Page RPG Jam 2024 →

So many fun ideas

Over 600 different one-page (PDF, usually) games, mostly free. If you’re into RPGs and/or print-and-play games, there’s a lot here. Check out Handful of Spies, an RPG that uses a standard deck of cards.