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I didn't think I'd ever be able to buy a Micro Journal make, given how popular the models are (they are all homemade by Um Kyu Lee in Italy and they literally fly off the shelves within minutes of each drop).

But somehow, I managed to snag the one I like the most, the Micro journal Rev 6 (rev 2 is a close contender) after I'd already given up and bought the Palma 1 to pair with my Planck EZ. I felt rather guilty buying a Micro journal based on a Planck keyboard.... in fact, technically I already have everything I need to make my own version of the Rev 6: raspberry pi, external battery, Planck, three types of small screens compatible with Rpi. But I don't have the time to figure out how to encase it into a bona fide cyberdeck and my coding skills are subpar. So I eventually relented and bought the Palma on sale. Well... a few days later, I scored a Micro Journal rev 6. It's been nothing short of orgasmic typing on this thing.

Selling a new Palma, skip if not interested ----

Which is why I am now selling my wonderful, beautiful new e-reader: the Boox Palma 1. Even though Micro journal is not an eink device, I can't justify spending this much money (on top of the parts I've acquired to make my own) on a minimalist writing set-up... (the cheapest version of this would be plain pencil and paper, no batteries needed, completely offline).

So if anyone's in the EU market for a brand new Palma 1 (black) plus two flip cases, I'm happy to sell within the EU for exactly the amount I paid (I received the item in Taiwan so I didn't have to pay EU VAT): 205 euros (shipping not included). For reference, the Palma 1 is currently on sale for 230 euros (also no free shipping) in the EU store.

https://euroshop.boox.com/products/boox-palma?variant=43381943599304

My Palma in action, I'm using KOreader here:

With the Planck EZ (and Obsidian as software):

(text me xoxo)

On that note, I might eventually sell my Planck EZ, too, if the Microjournal becomes a complete replacement of the use cases I have for it. It's already out of production, so it might also be worthwhile to keep this nice little gem. It's so well-made. But 250 dollars being the price I paid, I really can't justify keeping it around without using it.

---------- end of Palma talk ----------

Anyway, back to the Micro Journal Rev 6.

Everything is as advertised, I bought the right kind of battery and installed it with no issue. Charged it for 4 hours as recommended. The package includes two QR codes, one that explains the layouts of the different layers (alt, shift, and alt+shift are all keys used to toggle between the four layers-- this is useful to know if you're not going to bother to change the layout, as it's not at all apparent where some of the keys are from the printed keycaps, which only reflect the main and shift layers. There are more keys available in the alt and alt+shift layers, like the colon and the dash). Once I get ahold of a laptop with a SD slot, I'll update the firmware, set up Google drive, and change the layout just to reflect the layers I set up for my Planck EZ.

But right now, it boots immediately to my last writing screen for immediate typing (there's a cute boot animation that can be disabled, though it gives the device so much character!). I changed up the background and foreground colors to match the vibe of the keyboard and that's all there is to the tinkering of settings. No excuse whatsoever to procrastinate from writing (the demon of 'I need to optimize my device, then start writing"). Of course, once your SD card is in the computer, you can tinker as much as you want, but the device alone won't distract you from clacking away.

Edit: The only other thing the menu does is show a list of ten docs, each named by the current character count (so no time wasted naming files and whatnot). I wonder what happens when I want to create more than ten files.

~~I am very perplexed about the bag of keycaps I received with the device, which... came with the keycaps I ordered already. Are the rest for a separate full keyboard? If so, why? Or are the keys already on the 40% keyboard from a bigger set and this is just Mr Lee's way of giving me the rest of the set that I paid for? I sent him an email to clarify.~~ Edit: I ordered keycaps. Mr Lee gave me a full keyboard set, with the default keys already installed.

~~But regardless,~~ I am so stoked that I got the milk tea keycap set (don't know if we have a choice or not) with the Chinese character “奶“ (milk) for the space bar and the enter key. This suits me very well (⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠³⁠˘⁠)⁠♥. Edit: And I can't wait to switch the switches and use my Kahlil silver or U4 Boba switches.

Something about Lee's makes make it easy for a girlie girl to join the fun (not that I am one), as the aesthetics of writer decks tend to be on the futuristic-neutral side of things. I think I saw a hello kitty version of this device in one of Lee's blog posts. I am perfectly happy paying for the aesthetics, the ease of use, and the fact that I am supporting a one-person Maker succeed in doing what they love.

Oh, another note for potential buyers of Micro journals. You can pick whatever colorway and swipe your card to nab a device during a drop, and then write Lee what you'd like your colorway to be instead. Be super nice though, as he doesn't have to honor the request. The devices are made to order so it was ok at the end that I changed my colorway.

Now I just need to hide this from my baby as much as I can....

Edit: This all seems so positive, it's like a sales pitch. To balance things off: it's very clear that this is a DIY made-at-home device and I came in eyes wide open. There is no sleek website with a detailed guidebook and handholding (like ZSA does for their keyboards, complete with proprietary layout software and type-training). One must be careful every step of the way: there is no team proofing the device against all kinds of dumb consumer behavior. Mr Lee wasn't joking when he said that eye-hand coordination is needed to insert the SD card: it's not clear which orientation works and there's not so much guidance built into the system to ensure a secure, good insertion. The three (?!) seemly identical USB-C slots are for different purposes. I still don't know why there's two on one side. The battery must be inserted carefully and according to instructions, or the thing will combust. The filaments from 3D printing are still here and there, to be brushed aside like spiderwebs.

These DIY qualities don't affect my user experience because the price is really fair and I know what I'm paying for. I'm just really glad that a Maker can create a business out of their makes!

As pictured, I now have a Palma 1 + Planck EZ writer deck setup.

Delighted by this Pikachu bundle: yellow Gameboy Pocket + Pikachu Gameboy Light screen (IPS mod) + Pikachu yellow cart. Modded by a Taiwanese local who goes by Mr Blue (藍).

And... I did it, boys.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/10300503

So.... I went to a DIY market today and found this guy selling restored and modded Gameboys. Couldn't get over the cuteness factor here-- a Gameboy Pocket modded with the backlit screen of a Gameboy Light Pokémon, with two USB-C rechargeable batteries included. It came with the game, which I test played and loved.

I then randomly drew four games, the whole thing coming down to about 95 euros.... yes... I know that I totally overpaid, but I'm brand new to the modding market and otherwise don't have the drive or time to find reliable sources in my area. Very happy to get One Piece, Tetris, and Doraemon (but not the meaningless horse race betting game) in the draw, but it's all in Japanese! Will have to figure this out.

I was super excited to see GBA Rhythm Heaven offered from mint condition to second hand, but the guy was selling them for at least 22 euros and I had to get a Gameboy Advance to play it.... so I guess that's that for now.

I hope that with this ridiculous purchase, I won't be tempted to buy Playdate.

This guy restores old Gameboys, in some cases, upgrading the screen to have backlights (warmth and brightness). They're adorable. But they're also between 50-80 euros (including a game).

This is a hard one. I am now staying with my mother, who is a very successful professional that is also a hoarder. She goes to the extreme when it comes to frugality, tearing apart old tshirts and towels to turn into rags that are then used for decades. She gave me leftover baby soap from 1989 for my baby, born in 2023.

It thus feels awful to, under her roof, quietly order not two, but three new gadgets for a dream writerdeck, on top of what I already have (a planck keyboard that was on the expensive end as it came preassembled, a raspberry pi 4000 with a cyberdeck extension, a raspberry pi 4 with a long, narrow screen). A just got the now-discounted Boox Palma 1 and a new low-profile ortholinear split-keyboard, AND because i couldn't bear the chance of missing a Micro Journal drop, the rev.6, which is itself a raspberry pi powered planck keyboard and eink device (aka what I wanted to build myself but failed because I didn't have the energy in me to learn and invest in 3D printing).

If I can successfully return the split keyboard, I'm still looking at around 1000 euros of investment in a "minimalist low-tech solution to distraction-free writing" when I know that I could've and should've just shut up and write. Like I am now with my Planck and my smart phone.

Meanwhile, my mother is using a desktop upstairs from the early 2000s, it still has the static external speaker set and a keyboard that connects with the dual-colored plugs. She uses an open source word processor and writes all day long on that thing. She would never have dreamed of (she would in fact be quite disgusted by) any of my purchases. And she gets everything done. She doesn't procrastinate, she knows who she is and what she is capable of, and did I say that she writes?

I, on the other hand, am a washed-up wanna-be, it seems, trying to throw money at the problem (including money for an expensive therapist to talk about this issue).

When the world is turning to war and I have very limited resources to survive what is to come, I know what these purchases are doing. They are an attempt to grasp onto a world that I wish I were in, where I could carelessly and frivolously enjoy fun gadgets and write for/out of pleasure.

Now that that is out, I do have to say that it was a pleasure typing on this thing.

Since nobody could answer this question for me on the interwebs, I'm posting my solution here. I have a customized Planck keyboard layout with no capslock key, yet somehow on my Android (Pixel phone), I could only type in all caps. LIKE A SILLY PERSON. The problem wasn't my keyboard, as I was able to type correctly once it was connected to a laptop. So here is how I solved the problem:

1. use on-screen keyboard (I use a G-board) on my phone to check that indeed, capslock was on for some reason
2. go to physical keyboard under settings and select the option to change modifying keys.
3. change the capslock so something I have on the board, like alt, change alt to capslock so that the two shortcuts don't fight with each other
4. use the alternative key, in my case, alt, to turn off capslock. change the keys back.

All done!

I had the great pleasure to accidentally discover one of the oldest typewriter shops in the world. Since 1930, 95 years and going, the owner is the grandson of the original founder. Having just revived my Planck EZ writerdeck set-up, it was of course a delicious treat to take in the whole range of antique typewriters displayed and sold at the shop (which also does repairs).

I am especially attracted to the 1958 Herme Baby and this absolutely adorable children's typewriter.

We also played with a modern T 180 DS Plus electric typewriter-- one still produced and sold-- and looked up some USB typewriter options (imagine that, having a digital copy saved up while typing up the original instead of printing out a copy after typing up the digital!).

This was a much-needed treat because I haven't studied German for more than half a month and it was a great disappointment to many that I didn't have the right kind of linguistic skills to communicate during today's team meeting.

As my colleague and I walked out the door, we saw an incredible sight. An elderly gentlemen stopped in front of one of the typewriters at the window and stared at it, not believing his eyes. He then looked up, and on his face was a smile I've never ever seen on someone his age in this city. It was radiating with youth and sheer joy. This is why this shop still exists, I suppose.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures. Vienna is full of gems.

Typed on Planck EZ (now discontinued!)

When: after baby's bed time

I found my dusty old EZ Planck, a 40% keyboard from ZAS I bought during the second year of the pandemic. That was the height of my writerdeck craze. I subsequently got a Raspberry Pi 400 and then some small screens and then got my hands on a Raspberry Pi 3 after the pandemic shortage ended, trying to built my own deck in different ways. The big problem was that I got ambitious. I wanted to learn Linux. So I set up a whole system that I no longer have access to because it was complicated, I only played with it for half a year, and I plainly forgot.

So here I am, triggered by a discussion of Microjournals, back to the basics of writing, with my Planck keyboard and a USB cord and an old smartphone...

I've had this book for quite some while. My presence in Austria and exposure to philosophers working on Nazi-era biologists made me realize that a few of the historical German biologists that I've come to know and admire are actually successful and/or famous because they collaborated or are part of the Nazi rule over science.

It was wonderful that this author decided to take a year of leave from teaching biology to conduct the research needed to write up this dissertation. And now, more than ever, is the time to read it.

"This study is an attempt to answer the question of how National Socialist politics and ideology influenced the development of biological research at the universities and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes in Germany." -- p.1

In the foreword by Deichmann's dissertation advisor Benno Müller-Hill, who supervised the work, and the author's introduction, we learn that 13% biologists were dismissed between 1933-38, mostly for racial reasons, that 75% of those were able to emigrate, and that many of them went on to become internationally successful scientists. A main conclusion of this book is that the inward-looking, self-isolating Third Reich biologists and the nationalistic turn of science (e.g., publishing only in German journals and conferences) better explains the substantial decline of the biological sciences during this period, more so than the antiscientific attitude of Hitler and the (horrible) brain drain.

I really look forward to learning more about what it is like to be a biologist during these times-- especially for those who stayed and thrived through collaboration. I'll be updating my reading notes in the comments.

Offline gadgets:

Physical copy of book, but see link for an archive.org loan copy

Writer deck: kinesis Freestyle 2 split keyboard plugged into an old smartphone ("distraction-less" compared to a laptop)

Situation: baby finally fell asleep, half an hour of reading before adult bedtime

Location: desk

A stroller walk and a 1.5 nap bought me a precious two chapters into these exciting new books.

#Language of Climate Politics

The "Language of Climate Politics" caught my eye because the author quote posted a comment on Bluesky that her book is the best of the genre. As someone trained in philosophy, psychology, and biology at a graduate level and now working in the field of science & institutional communication, I've always been fascinated by the way concepts/conceptions/words move people.

If you already know a bit about the reality of man-made climate change and the different ways people react to it (from denial to alarmist to optimistic to neutral to doomist), it's useful to skip directly to the final pages of chapter 1 "How to Talk about the Thread of Climate Change-- And the Fight to Phase Out Fossil Fuels". Threading the tight line between despair and evidence-based optimism, the author suggests redirecting our attention from the facts around the projected future to the "people maintaining the systems that are destroying the human future" and the way their political language achieves this goal. "Keeping the language and the actions of all these people in view will help stoke a healthy outrage over fossil-energy interests' depraved indifference to the destruction of the only world known to support life." The goal is to END the languages that are silencing climate change action.

I look forward to seeing her exposure of propaganda and politik-talk in the next chapter.

#Careless People

Like most people, the Streisand Effect of loud censorship bringing attention to the censored led me to this now best-seller. I bought the audiobook off of Libro.fm, which is my current source of audiobooks (that I will truly own as mp3 and mp4 files). From a story-telling perspective, the author really nailed this down. The first two chapters are fun, outrageous, but also relatable stories. Excellent story-telling. I've never been this engaged with a straight narrated audiobook before (I usually listen to poetry and performances). My mind usually wanders when someone is droning about in the background of whatever it is that I'm doing... but this strollerwalk with the book was excellent.

I'll be updating my reading notes in the comments.

Offline gadgets:

"Language" PDF ebook: Quaderno A5 e-reader

"Careless" Audiobook: Yoto player & card

Microjournaling: L!FE B6 notebook

Baby status: evening stroller walk and nap

Reading location: walk (audio), cafe (ebook)