Copernican

My first ergo mech keyboard was a ZSA Moonlander which I got a little over a year ago. I love it. However, I am now being asked to come into the office more often and am looking at getting something similar, but more portable.

I was looking at the ZSA Voyager since the split keeb, low profile form factor, and columnar layout seem to check a lot of boxes, but I can't tell if I can go cut out that many keys/rows. Mostly concerned about losing the bottom row where I often hit CTRL, and losing out on the 3 thumbcluster buttons I always use.

Questions I have are:

1. Is it easy to switch from keyboard layouts that have dedicated ctrl keys, vs long pressing?

2. If this is used for an office setup where the keyboard is going to basically be straddling my laptop keyboard, do folks often just dance between the split keyboard to the laptop keyboard for those extra keys or muscle memory chords?

3. Are there low profile split type keyboards I should be considering?

4. If I like U4Ts, what type of switches should I be looking at for low profile tactiles but not too thocky and loud?

I always see advice about which software to use and there's always the advice that FreeTaxUSA is the best bang for your buck and does everything you need for when your taxes are "simple." I've used and thought it was great for years. But as my career has grown and no longer filed as a single I've begun to question when my taxes and earnings become "complicated" to the point where it is worthwhile to have a professional do my taxes. Are there general recommended bullet points or scenarios?

Paramount Global, amid a swirl of M&A discussions, is laying off about 800 employees worldwide — an estimated 3% of its headcount — as it looks to trim costs.

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For the third quarter of 2023, Paramount Global’s revenue rose 3% thanks to its growth in its streaming and film businesses — but revenue in its largest division, linear TV, fell 8% as sales of traditional television advertising continued to contract (declining 14% in the quarter).

Looking to pay off $15k of student loan debt of my partner. It's something we could wipe out with cash on hand if we wanted to relatively quickly. But one of the loans is 4.5%. Am I better off just riding that out but keeping the cash in for that loan in a HY savings account or keep reinvesting it in short term CD's that have a 5% return and to have more liquidity?

There's a part of me that used to really enjoy the piece of mind of being debt free when I paid off my student loans. But now that I'm more financially established and disciplined, I'm wondering if it's better to pay it off slowly.

Long form article on school shootings, police dept scapegoating, training for active shooters, and the confusing time to be a police officer where public feedback wants deescalation in most scenarios, but expect military or warrior mentality training for school shootings responses.

Because cowardice is not an actual crime—courts have consistently ruled that police officers have no specific constitutional duty to protect citizens, except for those in their custody—Florida prosecutors argued that Peterson, in his job as a school resource officer, was a “caregiver” for the children at Stoneman Douglas. His trial would thus be an experiment in a new arena of police accountability: Can cops be criminally punished for failing to move toward gunfire?

Peterson had received only three specific active-shooter trainings, in 2007, 2012, and 2016. Although other courses had taught relevant or adjacent skills—“tactical pistol,” “combat life saver”—or had been lectures that focused on things like the history of mass shootings, Peterson had spent very little time learning how to do one of the most dangerous and complex tasks required of law enforcement: confront a shooter who has a semiautomatic rifle.

In one solo-response exercise, the script prompted instructors to say: “There is no reason to give up a good position of cover … Remember, the cavalry is on their way, so it’s better to hold, than to expose yourself to unknown threats.”

Over the past few years, the public has witnessed multiple distressing moments of baffling police behavior. All those cops standing, impotent, in the hallways of a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school while children were slaughtered. Cops killing Black motorists after traffic stops escalated needlessly. To policing experts, both problems fall under the same umbrella: improper use of force. Too little force, too much force—both lead to terrible outcomes.

Nobody is sure any longer what the job of policing is, Morgan told me, or how to weigh its different priorities. This squares with what cops have been telling me in recent years: It’s never been a more confusing time to be a police officer.

Where does crown heights end and prospect heights begin? Is Greenwood heights really different than sunset park and south slope? Is "Ridgewood-Bushwick" really a neighborhood name? This and more in a fun NY Times interactive map.

I'm fed up of trying to make a echo dot permanently muted work as a Spotify streaming device for my powered speakers. The account management for a multi user household and linking specific Amazon accounts is broken. I want a device that allows basically any user on my home wifi nw to pick a device to stream to like a Chromecast.

I've been still shocked about the cost of a raspberry pi these days, but is 100 dollars for a bundle of components really the best option out there for a straight forward streaming receiver to connect to some powered book shelf speakers? Are there any other options under 100 bucks?

Pizza takes practice! Don't be discouraged by first attempt results. Here's a look back at my progress over 5 years of pizza making in a conventional oven. I do most of the bake these days on a steel in the dedicated broiler drawer of my old oven. Early attempts used 00 Flour which sucks for conventional ovens since it doesn't brown at lower heat. KABF for the win. Recipe below.

Recipe measurements for 3 dough balls about 290g.

King Arthur Bread Flour - 100% - 530g

Water (90-95 degrees F) - 61% - 323g

Sea Salt - 2% - 16g

Instant Dry Yeast - .25% - 1.3g / or two-thirds of a half tsp

Steps:

1. Dissolve salt in lukewarm water by swishing around in large bowl or food container

2. Add yeast, and swish around to dissolve

3. After a minute or two add flour and mix by hand until just incorporated

4. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes

5. Remove dough and knead for 30-60 seconds on lightly floured surface

6. Bulk ferment for 2 hours, covered, at room temp

7. Divide dough and shape into balls.

8. Put dough balls on floured plate. Sprinkle with flour, and cover plate with plastic wrap. Or use sealed food containers that provide space to ferment.

9. Ferment dough in fridge for 24-48 hours.

10. Remove dough balls 90-120 minutes before baking, during that time preheat your pizza stone at the hottest temp. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to about 13-14 inch diameter

Peppe Pizzaria, Paris, France. Shop was rated best pizza in Europe in 2021 and 2022. The front pizza is the "CAMPIONE DEL MONDO" with yellow tomatoes, jambon, provolone, mozzarella di bufala, grilled almonds, and fig jam. Behind a more standard Pizza PIccante with a spicy ham (not sure if sopressata, salami, or something else) and onion confit.