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diff --git a/content/blog/2022/month_without_apple.md b/content/blog/2022/month_without_apple.md
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+---
+date: 2022-05-18T10:10:00+02:00
+draft: false
+category: "hardware"
+year: 2022
+title: A month with a disgusting ThinkPad
+tags: 
+- ThinkPad
+- Lenovo
+- IBM
+abstract: A short review after a month of usage.
+---
+It's been a little over a month since I received my first used ThinkPad. For the most part I love it, but some things really baffle me.
+ <!--more--> 
+The working name of this post was "A Month Without Apple", but it would be a lie. I still use a M1 MacBook Pro for work, since this is the machine my employer provided to me. But privately I moved to this machine (Defiant) 100%.
+
+## Some specs
+Nothing to flex about, but just to give an overview of what I am talking about.
+
+```
+Model mame.............Thinpad X1 Extreme gen2
+CPU..............Intel i5-9300 8 core @ 4.1GHz
+Memory...................................32 GB
+GPU1..........................UHD Graphics 630
+GPU2....NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1650 Mobile / Max-Q
+Screen size.............................15,6''
+```
+
+## Impressions
+
+I have yet to challenge the machine. I haven't used the dedicated GPU once (still waiting for Return to Monkey Island!) and my Arch installation is quite minimal - about 200 MB of RAM after starting X. I have compiled some applications, and it was very doable. One thing I miss from M1 is the fan noise or rather lack of thereof. X1 can get loud, but the sound is lower than what older MacBooks produced and therefore much less annoying. Using headphones helps a lot, but more about it later.
+
+But you buy ThinkPad for keyboard, right? I used Apple's butterfly keyboard for few years and I hated it. Everyone I know who was issued a Macbook with one, now has random chance of registering between 0 and 2 key presses. It's the second-worst input devise I've ever witnessed, right after touch screen.
+
+[The Butterfly keyboard drama on The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/4/21246223/macbook-keyboard-butterfly-magic-pro-apple-design)
+
+I've also used older MacBook keyboards and the new ones. I liked them and I still have no strong complaints against them. 
+
+They said that this ThinkPad's keyboards is amazing. They were right. I no longer enjoy typing on MacBooks, it's void of any character. Thinkpad's key travel is much bigger and the keys require significant force to actually press it. It's closer to external Logitech K860, but the keys are much stiffer. It's the newer, chiclet design - I'm even afraid to think how great the classic keyboards were.
+
+{{< img-center "22-thinkpad-keyboard.jpg" "Thinkpad's keyboard">}}
+
+The touchpad however is nowhere near Macbook's one. I will need to dig a big deeper into config, but they joy is far from what Apple provides. Everything is just this much more troublesome. I wanted to like the nib, but I simply can't force myself to use it. Maybe in the future, but for now I stick with controlling the computer using the old keyboard/touchpad combo.
+
+{{< img-center "22-thinkpad-nub.jpg" "Thinkpad's trackpoint">}}
+
+One thing I was afraid was that coming from a Retina display, the Full HD screen will be an eyesore. I was wrong. The screen is nothing to write home about, but it's perfectly usable. Enough to not notice it. And, since I use mostly terminal applications, I have yet to see a problem here.
+
+The single worst thing about this computer are the speakers. They are small and they sound small. They are located on the bottom of the computer, and it makes the laptop very unlaptopable, as the sound disappears in the air. I am extremely spoiled with the sound coming out of 16'' M1 MacBook Pro - this is a fact. But those tiny things Lenovo put here are plain insulting. This computer needs to be attached to headphones/speakers. This is one thing I'd change about this X1 Extreme in an instant.
+
+{{< img-center "22-thinkpad-speaker.jpg" "World's worst speakers">}}
+
+Some people hate the look of ThinkPads saying that they should be used only during wartime. Some love them. It definitely is an acquired taste. Personally, I love every millimeter of it. I love the sturdiness, the feel of the housing, the red dot on top of "i" (which glows on the back of monitor!)
+
+What I hate is that the computer is always disgustingly dirty. It's covered in some rubber, and it's impossible to actually get it clean. I spend a few hours trying to make it sparkly clean after I got it, but without any success. It was dirty, and it's getting dirtier all the time. It seems that it was not designed for people with skin as the oils from my hands covers the palm rests. Disgusting.
+
+{{< img-center "22-thinkpad-dirty-boy.jpg" "Disgusting!">}}
+
+And last, but definitely not least: you can actually open the computer and upgrade it. This is something PC folks take for granted, but coming from Apple garden it's breathtaking.
+
+{{< img-center "22-thinkpad-guts.jpg" "Only 6 screws and voila!">}}
+
+## Conclusion
+
+Would I get another ThinkPad or a MacBook? Well, Apple started getting on my nerves some time ago, and it's only getting worse. Their chips are a thing of wonder, their designs are still nice. But they are making too may choices limiting the user. Tim Cook becomes the villain of IT. I won't take any part of it. I used Macbooks exclusively since 2013, but I don't think I will get another MacBook.
+
+ThinkPad, for now, is a great machine. I love almost everything about it. I would most definitely purchase the machine again.
diff --git a/content/blog/2022/the_ivy_diaries_chapter_i.md b/content/blog/2022/the_ivy_diaries_chapter_i.md
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+---
+date: 2022-05-06T09:10:00+02:00
+draft: false
+category: "varia"
+year: 2022
+title: The Ivy Diaries, Chapter I
+tags:
+- ivy
+- urban-activism
+abstract: How I planted an Ivy behing garadge.
+---
+ I've become an urban activist in a way. And a terrible farmer in any another.
+ <!--more--> 
+I live in a typical polish flat. Luckily, we own a dedicated right in front of our building. The back wall of the garage complex (6 garages) faces the street, which I see every day. It was filled with soccer-themed graffiti for a long time, which I don't enjoy. Last year, sometime in the middle of the summer, I decided to plant Ivy there. Seemed easy. Now, a year later, I am a wiser man who knows that gardening to any extent is difficult.
+
+My first attempt was to cut the ends of a grown plant and plant it. Two days later, green services were cutting grass and murdering my plants.
+
+Before the second attempt, I've done some reading. I want Ivy to lose leaves during winter, to survive the harsh conditions of the barren earth, and not die due to pollution. And I bought seeds, some general usage dirt, and I played an urban terrorist one happy night. But, up till recently, nothing grew out of it.
+
+I waited till October and then bought young plants. I still don't know what kind of Ivy I purchased, but the description matched. And then I discovered that gardening is a nightmare. Even a tiny hole requires inhuman strength. Pulling grass out is also not a trivial matter. But I managed. I even bought a special nutrient. So, this time patiently, I waited. I was regularly watering and nurturing my plants. I even named them - Quark and Rom. Since it was almost winter, I received the plants without any leaves.
+
+Right after winter ended, I surrounded them with a small fence to ensure that they won't get slaughtered again. One thing I did not take into account is other humans. Someone decided that my small plant covered a fence looked like a trashcan. And for the last few weeks, I have removed empty beer cans every few days. Always three there are - no more, no less.
+
+But, on April 29th, we finally saw that the Ivy is still alive.
+
+{{< img-center "ivy-22-2.png" "Quark on 29th of April">}}
+
+What a happy day it was. Soon after, I covered the entirety of the fence covered space with sticks, so it's not that easy to throw cans there. I am not a handyman, but it works. So today, the new can batch was not directly on my plants but beside them. I consider it a win.
+
+{{< img-center "ivy-22-3.png" "Rom on 4th of May">}}
+
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2022/workman_layout.md b/content/blog/2022/workman_layout.md
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+---
+date: 2022-06-01T21:10:00+02:00
+draft: false
+category: "varia"
+year: 2022
+title: Trying out the Workman layout
+tags: 
+- keyboards
+- layout
+- Colemak
+- Dvorak
+- Workman
+- QWERTY
+- keybr
+abstract: I tried to move from QWERTY to Workman.
+---
+I'm a terrible typist. I make more typos than I'd like to admit, I type slow and mostly use 3 fingers in total. Time for a makeover.
+ <!--more--> 
+I never liked typing. I consider it a tedious task I do 8-12 hours a day. I'm guessing this is mostly due to my terrible skills, but I hope that's not the whole story.
+
+The standard QWERTY keyboard layout we know and (do not) love is, according to the legend, an effect of deliberately slowing do typing speeds. It comes from typewriter times, where typing too fast could result in jamming the machine. We no longer have this problem, but QWERTY is still with us.
+
+Luckily there are alternatives. Lots of them actually, but only 3 seem viable:
+
+- Dvorak
+- Colemak
+- Workman
+
+Out of those three, Dvorak seems to be outdated as it was also designed around typewriters. Workman was designed as a solution for downsides of Colemak, and this was my choice. Then I found out about Colemak-DH, which is a modified version of Colemak addressing Workman... but I've already chosen. I'll be a Workman!
+
+[Workman Keyboard Layout](https://workmanlayout.org/)
+
+Also, I don't know anyone who uses Workman, so why not? What is important, is that every layout is told be a significant improvement over QWERTY.
+
+The plan is simple:
+
+- use QWERTY as daily layout
+- practice Workman daily
+- after I am able to confidently type my passwords in Workman, completely abandon QWERTY.
+
+I've chosen Keybr as my tutoring platform
+
+[keybr.com](https://www.keybr.com)
+
+It supports Workman (which is not that common as I found out) and is able to emulate it on system with QWERTY. I set myself a goal of 15 mins per day... and it's a nightmare. Or at least it was for the first few days. Muscle memory is strong, even with my mediocre QWERTY skills. Keybr uses a great system where it starts with 6 most common letters of US dictionary, then grades how well I type them and decides if I am ready for more. After 5 days I am not. However, what I've noticed is the joy of flow when typing. I've never felt this way with QWERTY, it was always a struggle.  I am using very few letters, I am typing slowly. However, the movements come together as something enjoyable. I'll see what comes of it. I always enjoy new things, so maybe that's just it
+
+[My Keybr profile](https://www.keybr.com/profile/723pl7f)