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

Hi, I’m Rajiv (he/him)! I do a lot of things, both in my job in strategy for a US-based food delivery company and in my personal time. At work, I write a lot of docs for leadership around how we grow the company, how we can build tools to enable sales teams, and how to continually improve our operations.

In my personal time, I have a lot of very different hobbies. I have been getting more into aerial circus, specifically aerial straps, because of my partner. It’s been a great way to get a sneaky workout while learning some cool skills.

I’ve also been teaching myself piano using a few music books. This was not a pandemic project, I should add; I play a few other instruments. It’s been a lot easier to pick things up (outside of not having any technique), and I really like that you don’t have to tune a digital piano.

One other big thing I do: I am a part of an organization called Queer Sober Social (QSS). We’re a group of LGBT+ folks who wanted to have a social life outside of drinking. We have in-person events for those who live in and around Chicago, and Zoom-based social events for those who do not. In addition to the events, I cohost a QSS podcast with my friend Carly. We write, record, and edit everything ourselves.

Otherwise, I enjoy taking photos and playing both video and board games.

What hardware do you use?

For play/personal things, I have my own PC that I built in 2021 (bad time for my old GPU to go bad) with some RGB lights because I liked them. Some key specs: Ryzen 9 5900X CPU, 32GB Vengeance RGB Pro RAM, Corsair 5000D Airflow case, Noctua NH-U12S Chromax black cooler, and RTX 3080 GPU.

Around my computer, in addition to using my ZSA Moonlander, I use a Logitech MX Master 3S mouse, rest with a HandStands wrist protector beanbag, look at an LG 40WP95C-W 40” UltraWide (5K2K resolution), have a pair of Kanto YU4 speakers, sit on a Steelcase Leap chair, and work at an Uplift standing desk. I have a wooden kitchen island that I use for the desk surface.

I sit in our living room, so there’s a lot of plants nearby, and a couple of cats (Kira and Bashir). They’re a sort of hardware, I think. Or maybe fur(m)wear?

For work, I have a company-issued MacBook Pro (M1). I have to reorganize my desk layout to fit the laptop in there, because I prefer to use the fingerprint reader and camera for work stuff.

For podcasting, I use a BEACN USB microphone. For gaming, I use my PC and a Steam Deck OLED. As you can see, I have a sort of white, black, and wood theme going on.

And what software?

Most of my time is spent at work, where I use some pretty normal, corporate things: Google Workspace for docs, sheets, and decks; Slack for instant messaging; Mode for some light SQL.

I use Adobe Lightroom for my artsy photography work. I’ve been using it for almost a decade, when I got my first DSLR.

I also use a Linux Mint virtual machine. It’s the first time I’m using Linux and I’m liking how the operating system works. Still learning a ton about the ethos of Linux, though. Free Open Source Software (FOSS) and programs that do one thing well are interesting concepts. Maybe in the future, I’ll switch places and have a Windows virtual machine and use Linux as my primary OS. Maybe I’ll dual-boot, who knows?

Of course, I can’t forget to talk about how I’ve been dabbling with game design and mild programming. I decided I’d learn a little bit of Godot, a popular game engine that is, importantly, free to use.

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

If you look closely, you’ll notice my bad typing habits in this version of my layout. I have 2 Ys! That’s the nice thing about a keyboard like this, though. I think I’ll eventually learn to type properly.

Thanks to Erez, I basically use software to keep the same Layer 1 whether I’m using a Mac or PC (or Linux). Knowing me, I’ll likely change up this layout again in a few weeks when I think of something else to try. I need to use more layers more often outside of having a num pad.

I got the Zip Kit when I first got my Moonlander because I knew I would want to add a few more keys with symbols. Even though I’ve been typing with this layout for a while, I still can’t always remember what each key does. Yes, yes, I know there’s a training tool.

Physically, I have mostly stock Cherry MX Brown switches except for the orange keys (apparently they’re called Costars!). I got a few switch sampler packs and had two Gateron Greens, so put those in for a satisfying click. I also added thin O-rings for each key to help with noise / the feel of the keys.

What would be your dream setup?

In my dreams, I have separate setups for different uses in my life, but, alas, I live in a major city, so that space is not likely going to happen.

However, since this is fantasy, I would want a portable setup (maybe a Voyager?) that I could take with me whenever I travel for work. The Moonlander is plenty portable, but there’s something about low-profile keys that just seems to make sense to me.

I’d love a monitor that was ultrawide, but also high res; IPA for color accuracy; with a high refresh rate for gaming, physical KVM, picture-in-picture, and multiple Thunderbolt ports so I could connect my computers / systems in pretty easily. What I have is pretty close, but not perfect.