[=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x Stardate: 20240705.1541 Location: Capital One Cafe Input Device: Steam Deck with folding BT keyboard + Xreal glasses Audio: Capital One muzak Visual: CoolRetroTerm with transparent display...seeing pedestrians since I am seated by the window. Emotional: ah's all cybah 'n shit [=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x Yes, it has been some time since the last time I phlog'd. Yes, I went through some shit, and that has come to pass, so I am where I at now, which is writing this phost. I have basically gone non-participatory and have not had much desire to plug in. It wasn any kind of conscious decision I made, it was just something that just happened. I just stopped. The time I would usually spend doi my online activities were replaced with more analog activities and connecting with people in meatspace...to an extent. I am still hyper-sensitive to getting easily flooded by being around too much stimuli, but I have found some tools (not weapons) to help me keep on the m0ar manageable side. Geekin' out is still part of what I do, but very low-key. No real projects or anything, just tinkering around. The video games I pla are mostly offline/single player. Still fun, but I try not to play too much. I know how I can end up living in that space for too lon Work has been non-existent. I have not been looking since I lost m last job. Currently a non-issue for now, but could be potentially damaging in the future. Much of the working hours are spent doing volunteer work helping others. It feels so much more fulfilling th any job ever has, but unfortunately, it does not pay legal tender. New music creation has not been on the radar lately. I think the capacity is there, just kinda dormant and not quite ready for expression. I still continue to practice daily and try to learn ne songs when I get inspired. But they are not my own creation and usually just tied to some memory of the past...ain't nothin' wrong wid dat. I am still writing/journaling quite a bit, but I have hot been posting anything. Most of my thoughts these days seem a bit irrelevant...well, what I would think of irrelevant to most people, but what do I know. Anyhow, I have made my writing terminal a bit m0ar elaborate...a number of upgrades. I have basically taken my Steam Deck and added a folding bluetooth keyboard, bluetooth mouse, and wired face-mounted display. It is a bit much, but I really fin myself enjoying this current configuration. I had picked up the Steam Deck awhile back when I decided to turn m old Steam Box (Alienware Alpha R1) into a Linux workstation. I did not want to do both gaming and workstation stuff on the same computer, so I separated the tasks into 2 machines. The Steam Deck seems to scratch that gaming itch, but I find myself doing m0ar terminal-based stuff on this device. That seems to be the trend with a lot of the hardware I've used over the years. If I can run stuff in a terminal and make it work for me, I will default to that...just run things lean. The cybah rig that I have previously phosted [1] about has basicall been pushed into the archives. I don't think that I will be making any further iterations of that device. It still works and all, but each time I "upgrade" it, I am not so thrilled with using it. The face-mounted display is way too old school and pixelated compared t the hardware of now. The face-mounted display I am using now is the Xreal/Nreal Air. It connects directly to the Steam Deck via USB-C cable, which also powers the display. The display glasses are not cumbersome at all and are basically what I had hoped my previous displays to be. The ones I've used in the past were a pain to set up and had a lot of cables/equipment attached to it. I could stand using it every now and then, but I think I would spend m0ar time fussing with it and being frustrated with it instead of using it. The Xreal Air glasse are so much m0ar bettar! The displays, the resolution, the audio, the design, pretty much all of it is a big upgrade from the devices of the past. It is much m0ar portable and easier to set up/stow away. The glasses basically look like black sunglasses with a cable sticking out of it. They are much more discreet than the cumbersom looking goggles like the VR setups I see out there these days. I a not so interested in those devices, especially with my experience with the previous displays. Adding more features, like head tracki or special controllers would just add to the frustration for me. Plus, I get nauseous if I wear any face-mounted display for too lon even if there is no movement. Vomitting in an expensive VR helmet not on my list of things to do. One of the things that I like about the Air glasses is that I can take off the "immersion" lense cover/blinder and see behind my screen. Right now, I am seated by the window in the cafe and it is mid-afternoon. I have Cool Retro Term running full screen for this phost and I can look out of the window and see the pedestrians walk by behind my terminal, like having a tranparent background for my desktop/terminal, except that the background is meatspace, which is rad! Since it is bright outside, it is easy to see the background. The text gets washed out, so I look back at the table. Since I can touch-type, I can stare out the window and still type and enjoy the animated transparent background of meatspace ;) "The gurlz in their summer clothes pass me by..." There's probably some application of augmented reality that this could be used for, but I have not ventured into that subject yet. Not ready to go mobile or anything like that right now. Even going to a cafe with this setup took some courage...I wasn't sure if it would seem too strange. I have taken older devices out in public before and it felt strange with weird stares. This round, it seems much m0ar discreet and I haven't seen any weird stares. Another thing I like are the speakers built into the arms of the glasses. This makes it convenient and I don't need to bring a pair of headphones unless I need better audio or privacy. My previous Olympus FMD had earbuds attached to to the arms of the glasses that you could put in your ears, which were cool too, but the thin wires deteriorated over time. The glasses came in a zippered case that is like an oversized eye glasses case, which can store the glasses, cable, cleaning cloth an glasses cover and make it easy to transport. I just throw this, the Steam Deck, mouse, and keyboard in a bag and go. The keyboard I am using is a bluetooth folding keyboard made by a company called, "Royal Kludge." Interesting name. Model RK-F68. This one is probably one of the most comfortable portable folding keyboards that I have typed on for portable journaling/phlogging. have used many over the years, going back to the Palm PDA days and am really enjoying this current iteration of this kind of device. has mechanical keys and can be backlit. You can turn it off if you want to save power. It can also be plugged in via the included USB cable if you don't wanna use it via blootoof...and when the interna battery goes bad, which will eventually happen. The keyboard folds in half with the hinge horizontal to the keyboar All of the other folding keyboards in the past, the hinge was veritical. This was a problem when you wanted to type with the folding keyboard in your lap. The keyboard would not be stable and would fold up, unless you had a book or something to keep it stable With the hinge being horizontal, it sits just fine in my lap without folding up. It also has some weight to it that the other past keyboards lacked, which makes it feel more sturdy and helps it stay in place. There is also a phone stand built in, which I have yet to use. It meant for thin phones or maybe a small tablet and could be convenie if I used that kind of device. The only thing I have found so far that I do not like about this keyboard is the fact that it folds with the keys on the outside. Even though it came with a soft cloth case, I still worry about it getting damaged if I put it in my bag. It would have been better t have more rigid material for the case. I would have paid m0ar mone for that. I will probably try to find a better one or make a more protective case. I think I have rambled on too long. Time to disco and do something else. DIR [1] cybah_rig version 3 [=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x