Joshua Blais: Back Pain in Tech, Guix, Emacs, 34-Keys, Going Offline

Joshua Blais: Back Pain in Tech, Guix, Emacs, 34-Keys, Going Offline

June 19, 2026 · 2h 8m · Season 1 · Episode 47

About this episode

Joshua Blais discusses various topics including tech ergonomics, software choices, and personal challenges in the tech industry.

Joshua Blais is back on the podcast, and this episode goes all over the place: Guix, Nix breaking, distro hopping, Emacs, Neovim, 34-key keyboards, home row mods, back pain, ADHD, Adderall, phone addiction, online presence, AI, spirituality, gratitude, community, and making money on YouTube. We start with Linux and editor talk, including why Nix broke, what Guix is, why Joshua uses Emacs, whether he might go back to Neovim, and the difference between Doom Emacs and vanilla Emacs. Then we get into the ergonomic side of tech: back problems, chairs, keyboard placement, Colemak, concavity, 34 keys, where Shift goes on a tiny keyboard, ZMK, QMK, switches, and how keyboard choices affect your body. The second half gets more personal. We talk about substance abuse, Adderall, the ADHD trend, putting your phone away, whether kids should have phones or tablets, trying to build an online presence while also wanting to go offline, monetizing YouTube, having a community, IRC, networking, AI, spirituality, gratitude, and whether the Luke Smith path is the right path. Video: https://youtu.be/9ziLQK_kmKY What's the best way to support me…

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