Valerie Aurora

Systems programmer, writer, cat appreciator

The artist formerly known as vaurorapub on Twitter and infosec.exchange

I post about computers, nuclear stuff, science fiction, and science fact. I have ADHD so I'm into things that are Novel, Interesting, Challenging, and urgent.

Public Key

npub18envvfqj3m5k0jz6tf6ws2z0kksz3qk3t2rkcfqjtu59wqj7mjfsd95v4e

NIP-05 Address

vaurora_at_wandering.shop@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsruekxysfga6t8epd95a8g9p8mtgpgstg44pmvysf972zhqf0deycpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qqhsts6

Publishing to

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub18envvfqj3m5k0jz6tf6ws2z0kksz3qk3t2rkcfqjtu59wqj7mjfsd95v4e

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Last Notes

2024-08-05 18:26:50

Ah, yes, England, the place that is afraid to put a light switch in the bathroom because you might electrocute yourself by touching it with a damp hand, and also the place that saves energy by putting an electric-powered on-demand water heater INSIDE the shower

2024-08-05 13:49:07

I am on my way to Sellafield, the UK's "nuclear dustbin," after studying it obsessively from afar for ~4 years for use as the main location in my #nuclear thriller
My plan for talking to actual people who work there is to go to local pubs and hang out, which means I will totally fail because I'm an introverted nerd
But if nothing else, I will be stuck in a little B&B in Seascale and have nothing else to do but play with my Geiger counter and write my novel. Then to #WorldCon!

2024-07-25 17:36:14

The store is out of COVID tests. Conduct yourselves accordingly

2024-07-24 11:50:10

Advice please: for Reasons, I need to fax (I know) a form to a US fax number. What is a non-scam free e-Fax thing I can use? Thank you!

2024-07-11 07:15:47

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@npub1typ…c8hh if you write anything about this book I would love to see it!

2024-07-10 15:59:51

Awesome, a deeper explanation of "the purpose of a system is what it does" from the author of _The Unaccountability Machine_ using - wait for it - the British railway system. (Spoiler: he concludes it is a system to ration railway travel.)
https://backofmind.substack.com/p/the-purpose-of-a-system-is-you-cant

2024-07-10 15:42:12

Ahhhh it's been a while since I had a good old off by one error. Thanks, go-echarts interface!

2024-07-07 10:03:59

Where can I rent an extra large bike in Amsterdam? I have a friend visiting who needs an XXL/61cm frame for a week and google search is of course totally useless

2024-07-04 12:59:17

I will never not be annoyed by staring at my computer screen trying to figure something out for 20 minutes, then getting up to get a drink and understanding it 60 seconds later

2024-07-03 13:31:24

#WritersCoffeeClub  Do you have a title for your WIP or just a working title? How do you decide on a title?
_Unfavorable Geometry_ or _Infinity Room_, not sure which.
One reason I started writing this novel was because I was struck by how poetic and evocative a lot of nuclear fission terminology is. These are two of my favorite phrases. A few more: skyshine, body burden, poisoned vessels, superprompt critical, shear cave, material attractiveness

2024-06-22 07:04:38

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@npub1lks…a4mq happy to hear you are following the systems hacker growth path in one of the two approved directions (hacker -> homesteader or homesteader-> hacker)

2024-06-16 12:10:38

I read _The Unaccountability Machine_ by Dan Davies on the train yesterday and wow. Attempted summary: society is in crisis because our current systems of governance and feedback are unable to hear the signal that is the vast majority of people screaming, "My life is intolerable." This signal gets routed into any channel available: Brexit referendum, far-right parties, protests against masks or wind turbines or housing - anything to signal rebellion
https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/

2024-06-15 14:04:46

It's bad enough when I do a web search for some technical question and get an old post of mine, it is really bad when I do a web search and get old research papers of mine 🤔

2024-06-02 20:23:38

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Fun combinations of concurrency and hugo bugs fixed. I intend it to be minimal but not "no CSS at all" minimal. :)
https://bowshock.nl/

2024-06-02 14:48:47

Oh haha maybe I should get some people to poke at my new business website *before* I send an important email to a new business contact?
https://bowshock.nl/
Note: I am going for the minimal systems programmer almost Dr. Dr. Professor look, do not advise me to get a fancy scrolling website with fonts and huge pictures, thank you

2024-05-27 20:58:44

How Sovereign Do You Want To Be? by @npub1hxf…g8qu
Nice short review of the major elements of digital sovereignty:
• Confidentiality
• Flexibility
• Resilience
https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/how-sovereign-do-you-want-to-be/

2024-05-25 20:08:12

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@npub143y…3g53 this sounds like the kind of thing a file system should be able to do but they absolutely do not 😭

2024-05-20 12:40:57

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 20: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
It's less that I want to be a writer and more that I get excited about writing specific things and then I write them. I am curious how many other writers have a similar mindset

2024-05-17 08:02:34

"What OpenAI have presented with GPT-4o is a fresh paint job on a car with a dangerously corroded chassis. A false confidence machine." - @npub1p86…6rgk
https://fasterandworse.com/known-purpose-and-trusted-potential/

2024-05-14 16:50:06

Remember that blog post "I got robbed of my first kernel contribution" where a maintainer slightly rewrote a patch and took credit for it? Well, I decided to do something about it.
I co-authored a guide with Maria Matějka and some other folks on documenting how your project gives credit and otherwise handles contributions. If your project's policy is to lightly rewrite contributions and take credit for them, say so! Subscriber link (free) to the LWN article:
https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/971817/ae5fbbbc8cd1cf18/

2024-05-13 08:02:30

I'm all for fascists claiming that Signal is compromised because Katherine Maher is on the board. Yes, everyone who takes advice from creepy dudes, don't use Signal! Use some random app created by the FBI to surveil criminals, that's way better

2024-05-07 21:03:00

Test your detection of AI images (I'm about 70%)
https://detectfakes.kellogg.northwestern.edu

2024-05-06 07:47:51

I love having friends visit, in part because they remind me of how lovely Amsterdam is. This week: I can take a walk along the edge of the water at sunset and all I hear is birds chirping and an occasional gentle murmur as we pass people sitting on benches also watching the sunset. Cities aren't loud, cars are loud.

2024-03-30 18:30:02

My take on the xz supply chain attack is that modern software ecosystems are too complex and have too many individual people involved. The solution is obviously to start a small business employing just enough people to implement an ecosystem from scratch. Everyone at the business should be related by blood or marriage. Quitting or betraying it is punished severely. This is a new idea and no one has ever tried to run a business this way before and it will definitely work

2023-08-08 11:46:57

New gender just dropped
https://stockroom.wandering.shop/media_attachments/files/110/853/827/872/457/495/original/3c6d34738b7c2cb2.png