The workflow stuff looks cool, but between swapping Caps_Lock with Control_L and claiming M-x "involves scrunching your left hand up", I think most hackers would benefit more from learning better touch typing, rather than moving their contortions around the way the author does. You weren't meant to use the same hand for the key and the modifier--that's why there's another set of modifiers for your other hand, and why moving Control_L but not Control_R into easier reach will tempt you into dangerous habits.
Also, while it's really its own discussion, I think Emacs is more usable with the Dvorak keyboard layout. Emacs's default keybindings pack a lot of important keys into the left hand on Qwerty (C-x, C-c, C-v, C-r, C-s), while with Dvorak they're distributed more evenly.
Remapping left-Alt to Ctrl is another option; that way, you can hold Ctrl with your thumb while you type.
