I totally agree. I was focusing on getting the positioning of symbol layers and such right, and I wanted that to be independent of the number of thumbkey so when I add thumbkeys back in (say for weteor/grumpy) the core layouts will remain the same.
Personally I'm not sure it's worth it longer term. 5x3+2 is my preference but I'm doing this to sort my layers so I can try some of the unibody split keyboards that have less keys to go round.
Yeah I'm doing it to establish a common layout for my symbol / number / navigation layers more than anything else, so I can expand from there to some 28 and 30 key keyboards as well as the Ferris Sweep with some consistant muscle memory.
To be fair I am planning on putting them back at some point.
I'm working on a core 18-key layout that I can expand anywhere up to 34 keys, so I have a consistent layout that I can use on some of the unibody split keyboards that are usually in that range of keys.
I use the Hario Switch almost exclusively for pourovers. It's glass plus you can throw in immersions with it. Bit spendy compared to the plastic cones though.
Haha its actually a Neon Genesis Evangelion themed keycap set so the additional keycaps are icons of the angels. I have them wired up to Vim and AutoHotkey shortcuts.
It's mostly a copy of my 34 key layout so the thumb keys are shift - space - enter - layer. Having the spacebar would throw that off. I was tempted but in the end I didn't want to lose a key on the top three rows for "enter".
I just worked out that a rotary controller can be mapped onto a mouse scroll wheel, which suddenly makes a lot of sense. I've been sitting here thinking "why would I want a volume knob? Why would I want two?" Is there anything else I am missing about rotary controllers?
I think once you accept that standard keyboards are laid out as they are just by convention and nothing else, and that moving to a new layout will take a bit of time, the prospect of having a keyboard where everything is exactly where you want it to be becomes quite thrilling. This is actually my first bit of real typing using Colemak DH. It is excruciatingly slow to touch type but I didn't know it at all two weeks ago. In two more weeks time I'll have my first split keyboard in my hands. So it's definately doable...
I was going to write a bunch of things about the Switch but I guess they would apply to most other pourover drippers too. I'm coming from the Chemex as a comparison, which is lovely but a bit slow and unwieldy for that one cup of coffee.
Having said that what makes the Switch stand out to me is that it feels like such a high quality piece of kit, and having the immersion element in the mix really suits me. My brain interprets that as "big aeropress" for whatever reason.
Yes that's basically why I got my Switch and its mostly the way I use it: percolate for the bloom then immerse for the brew. Although I'm going to play around with that soon.
I can only compare it to the Chemex, which is a bit of a different beast. I find that I can get a great balance of extraction and flavour out of the brew because I can immerse. For my work coffee I have settled into a medium grind of 18g coffee + 54g water, gentle pour for bloom, followed by a full pour (to 300g) at 30 seconds with the switch up so that the brew immerses, then switch down at 2 minutes to let the brew drain through the settled grounds. Then I vary the grind to sort any extraction issues with the particular beans I have.
I'm not sure if glass v plastic will make a difference like the ceramic does. I prewash my filters with boiling water which will heat up the Switch but I'm not sure how effective that will be.
I totally agree. I was focusing on getting the positioning of symbol layers and such right, and I wanted that to be independent of the number of thumbkey so when I add thumbkeys back in (say for weteor/grumpy) the core layouts will remain the same.