Who are you, and what do you do? What do you like to do outside of work?

I am recent graduate of Georgia Tech (go Jackets!) There, I graduated with a double major in CS and Mathematics. Most of my work involved typing either code or LaTeX; it got to a point where I was able to solve an entire proof in LaTeX without using any paper, if it was simple enough. I also primarily used Neovim for most of my work (huge shoutout to castel.dev for the posts about typing math notes in Vim). I really enjoyed going into rabbit holes with my configs/setups (greatly hampering my productivity with homework, but you know what they say about the time you enjoy wasting). That is how I got into ergonomic keyboards.

After graduating, I went on to travel to Peru for a couple weeks, and then I did some backpacking through Europe. I also spent a lot of time with my family back in Spain, where I am originally from. I wanted to have a summer full of experiences before I started working, since I knew I’d have less time for all of these things. In those trips I made memories I will never forget, and I would do it all over again every time.

Now I live in Chicago, where I just started a new job as a software engineer. Since I am still in boot camp, I am forced to use the keyboard on my laptop, instead of my Moonlander (the calamity!) I guess I could take my keyboard to the boot camp, but I don’t wanna be that guy quite yet. I am still very much adjusting to everything, but looking forward to my new life here (and the procrastinating I will do by overoptimizing my work setup).

At the moment, it seems like most of what I do outside of work is build furniture. However, I have always been an avid gym-goer (I used to go at 5:30 a.m. in college, right when it opened, so I could avoid waiting for equipment). I also enjoy walking, hiking, and biking, but more so for leisure than sport. I also try to keep learning new things every day, and have been studying for certifications after coming back from work.

What hardware do you use?

As I mentioned above, I use a Moonlander Mk1. Due to my years of gym-going and heavy typing, my wrists started to hurt, and I bought a platform. I use this with an M2 MacBook Air, a Thunderbolt 3 Dock, and a Dell monitor on an arm. A friend convinced me to buy an Uplift standing desk. Then there’s the crown jewel of my office setup, a Herman Miller Aeron chair. I don’t care how much my friends make fun of me, it was worth every dollar. Mind you, my setup in college was a lot jankier. All of my furniture came from IKEA, and I had a thirdhand monitor one of my roommates gave me once he graduated. I figured that if I was expected to make money while working from home, an upgrade was direly needed.

Soon, I will have to set up my desk at work, and I will probably be buying another Moonlander and platform, just to keep things consistent.

And what software?

As I mentioned, I mainly use Neovim, so my layout isn’t too crazy, as I typically prefer to add things into my Vim config, rather than keyboard keys (although there are a couple shortcuts for code navigation that are quite handy). I use macOS, and Kitty is my terminal emulator.

What’s your keyboard setup like? Do you use a custom layout or custom keycaps?

I have the “default” Moonlander and a platform so I can angle the keyboard more. I wish I had got blank keycaps (and I will if I end up buying another keyboard). I also have the Cherry MX reds, but I am also thinking of spicing that up soon. My layout is nothing crazy, but it does have a thumb key for the backslash, since it is a very common symbol in LaTeX (and also my leader key in Neovim). I also have a few macOS specific keys to switch virtual desktops and other functionality. Part of my mantra is that I would rather push the complexity of shortcuts to software, since it’s easier to go into a config file than flash the keyboard (as easy as that is already!).

What would be your dream setup?

I think that fortunately I am not very far from my dream setup. I wish I could figure out something that will completely eliminate my wrist pain, but I am still on the search for that. I am looking into learning the Dvorak layout, since I’ve heard it reduces strain, but given that I can already touch type QWERTY, this is quite the endeavor. I am also hoping to find a good solution to have my keyboard completely vertical.