Feoh

I'm a crusty old nerd who chases bright shiny things and loves playing with old computers :) Especially my Atari 800XL and Amiga.

I build castles in the cloud(s) for a living.

Apparently I exude TOXIC POSITIVITY, or so people on the internet tell me. We're all gonna die eventually, might as well feel good while we enjoy the ride :)

Pronouns: He/Him
Languages: English, Python, BASIC, LOGO
Homepage: https://www.feoh.org
Interests: Everything! But I love history, esoterica and old computers :) Also reading Science Fiction and Urban Fantasy!

Public Key

npub1y86096369k6fea7d75n2qtm530mvh7cn4t8lrsdgh2z28dcsh55qm3n02j

NIP-05 Address

feoh_at_oldbytes.space@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqszra8jagazmdyu7lxl2f4q9a6ghaktlvf64nl3cx5t4p9rkugt62qpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dszuc26x

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1y86096369k6fea7d75n2qtm530mvh7cn4t8lrsdgh2z28dcsh55qm3n02j

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Last Notes

2026-06-03 16:31:28 UTC

Dear tech talk/conference presenters: USE BiGGER FONTS PLEASE!
The average age of your bog standard techie is increasing. I've had crappy eyesight all my life, but I suspect now more and more are struggling to actually try to read the code samples you're putting up.
Make the fonts (for you) uncomfortably large. I *guarantee* your audiences, both in person and later on Youtube will thank you!
#a11y #vision #technology

2026-04-27 15:23:21 UTC

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Definitely a major whoopsie.
I mean, it's *possible* that they made this choice in the name of user friendliness and would stand behind that.
I'll bet you could put a bee in the bonnet of responsible folks at Canonical. Might be worth at least hearing their reasoning on this.

2026-01-16 19:35:39 UTC

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Brilliant! What model is this if you don't mind my asking?

2026-01-06 18:39:14 UTC

ignoring for a moment, tools like AI or LLM’s, are you having trouble managing the complexity of the code you work with day-to-day?

2025-12-27 06:33:18 UTC

Any @npub19rt…adh9 fans out there care to share what they love about the browser?
I've been running it a while and I've begun to wonder whether or not I should be supporting #chromium instead.
I don't use the built in mail or newsreader thingies and doubt I will anytime soon.

2025-12-17 17:08:24 UTC

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Pardon my ignorance, but by corporate platform algorithm do you mean the likes of Twitter or Bluesky?
#algorithmiccrack perhaps? :)

2025-12-11 17:17:20 UTC

I'm a bit worried about the discourse around #ai.
It's totally OK to have strong opinions either way, but I feel like in certain circles it's becoming a purity test.
Do you hold the RIGHT opinions about AI, how it's trained and how it's used?
I think pointing out the dangers is important. Pointing out the risks is important, but recognizing that the situation is nuanced and complex is important as well.

2025-12-02 13:09:58 UTC

This was SO INCREDIBLY GOOD!
you should absolutely see it if you haven’t already.
If you have a rigid idea in your head around “I don’t do musicals“ but you are open to other kinds of theatrical arts. I can’t recommend this particular show enough.
https://infosec.exchange/@rmd1023/115650056679288684

2025-11-04 15:50:26 UTC

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Ha! I know, right?
But for a machine with a processor that originally had a 64K memory max, one megabyte is like...
ONE MEEEELLLION DOLLARS!

2025-11-04 15:45:37 UTC

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I paid < $300 for mine on eBay.
The crazy thing is that like the podcast segment that spawned this, there's SUCH a huge variety of modern hardware to augment them.
I have a 1MB RAM expander board in mine, which I leave disabled most of the time for compat reasons, but there is modern software that utilizes the extra.
Also there's the amazing #fujinet project - It's a device that plugs into the Atari's SIO (serial IO) and puts it on your WIFI lan.
It's stunning how well engineered these old machines were, they treat the net connection like a moden and remote file stores like floppies :)
And that's part of the fun I think as well. Being able to appreciate how these guys in *1982* engineered hardware and operating systems that can still be useful and fun (to some of us anyway!) today.

2025-11-04 15:33:21 UTC

@npub1sy6…9wac @npub1r5x…nag3 It amuses me that you can't even begin to imagine why people enjoy puttering around with retrocomputing.
For me, it's because I feel like we're DROWNING in a sea of computing complexity and working on a machine I can understand EVERY SINGLE byte of is like a breath of fresh air - it feels like vacation :)
You can learn literally every single thing about the Atari 800XL sitting on the desk behind me in a slender paperback volume.

2025-10-07 18:07:29 UTC

I will not fall down the neovim startup time reduction rabbit hole.....
I will not fall down the neovim startup time reduction rabbit hole.....
I will not fall down the neovim startup time reduction rabbit hole.....
#neovim #ocd #timesinks #rabbitholes

2025-09-25 02:54:11 UTC

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Unpopular opinion:
https://vcvrack.com/Rack
Just download the Linux binary from there. Should work just fine!
This is why I avoid Flatpak.
My order of package install preference for Linux is:
Distro Package (e.g. .rpm or .deb)
Vendor binary Download
AppImage
Snap & Flatpak
Nothing against them, it's just that I feel like if the Flatpak requires ANY system integration at all it's an uphill battle.

2025-09-22 04:05:50 UTC

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Welp. I would say this experiment is an unqualified success.
I now have #nixos latest running on the 2009 Macbook Pro, including the finicky Broadcom wifi drivers.
Next question: Will it be too slow to be of any use?
It takes about 30s for #firefox to load and about 2m to do a #nix rebuild.
I guess only time will tell :)

2025-09-22 01:31:52 UTC

good luck to me! I’m giving #nixos another college try :-)
got this vintage 2009 MacBook Pro laptop as a hand me down for my sister. Honest to God I adore this thing. Beautiful keyboard. Gorgeous display. This is back when #Apple knew how to build hardware!
https://assets.oldbytes.space/assets.oldbytes.space/media_attachments/files/115/245/364/527/835/706/original/394493884ffb8950.jpeg

2025-09-16 18:31:48 UTC

This is a Dystopian timeline: My wife was let go after 25 years working for the same bank this morning. In an apparent oops, the bank's IT department hard wiped ALL her IOS devices remotely, while she was on the road driving, relying on the GPS function.
The screw you cherry on top? Our apartment building in its infinite wisdom a couple years back switched all building locks to the Latch app.
So she was LOCKED OUT OF OUR HOUSE.
Oh, and the Latch maintained intercom at our front door is out of order.
Thanks for that. Sheesh.

2025-08-21 19:10:57 UTC

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Good for you! I admire your highly principled stance.
Good luck finding a tool that meets your needs and preferences.

2025-08-21 17:29:06 UTC

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You can turn AI entirely off in your search results.
I do.

2025-08-21 14:20:20 UTC

When @npub15wh…e9hw says it's good, and @npub1fdr…lvhs says it's good. I believe it's good. @npub1zq5…dlp2 has been a life changer and a productivity force multiplier, and I'm not indulging in my usual hyperbole :)
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/08/enough-is-enough-i-dumped-googles-worsening-search-for-kagi/

2025-08-10 16:00:06 UTC

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I think that is true, but I also think it is useful to make a distinction between the technology itself and the evil ways that people use it. I’m not suggesting that this technology is inherently good or even not problematic because it clearly is. Just that it is here and many of us who are very strongly encouraged to use it probably can’t avoid doing so if we want to keep drawing paychecks.

2025-08-09 21:48:44 UTC

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good for you! Some of us still need to make a living. Give me my last 10 years before I can retire and this industry can eat itself as far as I’m concerned.

2025-08-09 21:43:42 UTC

https://x.com/signulll/status/1953843053510504738?s=46
I am an AI pragmatist . I see a lot of the rabidly, almost religiously anti-AI posts on here and I think people are taking things too far but I see a post like this and all I can think of is “the future this person is predicting is a nightmare“.
It’s great that AI agents can build a plethora of very shiny toys for us at a moments notice, but what I see here is an abandonment of the craft and discipline of software engineering.
Software quality is important. Software architecture and design are important. Writing maintainable software is important.
I am not seeing any of those things in the future. This person is predicting. And as someone who is never a fan of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, it makes me a little angry.

2025-08-04 18:21:00 UTC

So I just bought Breadbox on steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1770440/Breadbox/
And it's an interesting bit of #retrocomputing software.
Not interesting in that it emulates some new long lost computer system, but interesting in that it strives to replicate the *full experience* good, bad and ugly, of using 80s era Commodore computers.
Like, you get to THRILL to the interminable wait of watching data C-R-A-W-L off of a data cassette.
One might say "too accurate", but also, I *GET* what they're going for her and applaud it.
If you do too, you might consider buying the game as a show of support :)

2025-07-11 15:19:09 UTC

I know I've posted a bunch about #Windows and #WSL2 of late, but I just want to point out that I freaking big <3 open source.
It's amazing to me that something like @npub1hpw…cd0d exists and can provide such incredibly high quality software to the world for $0.
And I'm tickled pink that a big project like Fedora saw fit to release an "Official" #KDE variant of their distro! I have felt for many years that KDE's accessibility story was far superior to their competition, and it's great to be able to put my money where my mouth is and participate in that community.
More choices, more better. Everybody wins :)

2025-07-01 16:55:38 UTC

I have a question for the #fedi #floss #BSD hivemind:
I have a friend who is a crusty old sysadmin frustrated with Failbook and the rest who I think would LOVE the Fediverse.
I days past I'd have recommended @npub1j7t…kn6q but I know they're facing capacity issues.
Can anyone recommend a good ideally UNIX (BSD, Linux?) or FLOSS oriented instance I can point him at?
He's not as much of a retrocomputing maven as I am so oldbytes isn't a good fit IMO :)
Thanks!

2025-06-26 21:50:08 UTC

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It's a good article, but IMO the author makes the mistake of thinking that "the cultural mainstream IS reality".
It's not.
Innovation hasn't been hollowed out, it's just gone underground and been relegated to hobbyists who like to PLAY with things and build cool stuff. WHY? Because we CAN.
Really, it's MONEY that's hollowed mainstream innovation out, so if you want to find the real stuff, just go where the money ISN'T.

2025-06-09 02:23:45 UTC

Just installed @npub1hpw…cd0d #KDE on my Dell desktop.
I'm delighted. The install was easy and worked flawlessly, and the desktop booted up and everything *seems* to work great after an initial "smoke test".
I think I'm going to be much happier with this than the Ubuntu I was pretending didn't exist and booting once in a blue moon.
(I have just never gotten along with Gnome. Sorry Gnome folks. Great desktop, just not for me :)
And I'm chuffed that a major distro has blessed KDE with an official spin.
Well done Fedora! I look forward to exploring this more fully in future :)

2025-06-08 17:13:04 UTC

@npub1fdr…lvhs OK so I love the name "The Newbury Street Irregulars" so much I wish some Boston tech meetup could adopt it without engaging in copyright violation :)

2025-06-06 16:14:54 UTC

I think I am the only person on the planet who has ZERO desire for a #Nintendo Switch or Switch 2.
Nintendo games are and have always been all about Twitch gaming. Can you jump and hit that platform JUST right?
I can't deny that for an AWFUL lot of people, that *IS* gaming! But that's not me.
Pair that up with the fact that the #Steamdeck is meant to be user hackable *by design* and runs Linux to boot?
Nope. Not interested. Don't want to yuck the yum of the legions of folks ITCHING for a Switch 2. More for you I guess :)

2025-06-05 13:59:35 UTC

Why was I not informed that @npub1fdr…lvhs's Picks and Shovels was another Martin Hench story?
Dangit, I'd been putting off reading it thinking it was non fiction like Chokepoint Capitalism (an awesome book I very much enjoyed) so I had it on THAT to read list :)
At least now I know, and I'll look forward to it after I finish Ancilliary Sword which is also stunningly good :)
#books #reading

2025-06-03 17:23:17 UTC

All around the world, people are electing clones of Donald Trump.
I'd love to give in to temptation and say something about the world gone mad, but the reality is that people are suffering and looking for alternatives.
Frustrating that, from my perspective, they're making VERY questionable choices that could easily doom us all.
Good luck to the Polish people. You'll need it.
https://bsky.app/profile/bloomberg.com/post/3lqltxxtx7w2m

2025-05-29 17:17:54 UTC

NNNGGGH.
#Firefox has started prompting me about wanting to offer me AI based summaries of web pages.
DO NOT WANT.
The enshittification of the internet is inescapable.
(Please don't tell me this is why you run your own custom build of FunkySnogWeaselWithAnEyePatch. I know about it. Thanks.)

2025-05-16 16:50:05 UTC

Really enjoyed @npub1fdr…lvhs ‘s keynote at #PyconUS ! Right after the GOOG & META sponsor talks. The irony was delicious!

2025-05-07 14:11:56 UTC

@npub1gv2…tlwl WRT your request for more effective prompt technique articles - could that be because they're all behind Substack or other paywalls and not published on the open web?
Everybody wants to make a quick buck. Entrepreneur disease.

2025-04-14 14:17:27 UTC

Every time I read my email with #mutt it's a reminder of how bad the interfaces for Outlook or the myriad smart phone apps are.
Email is a powerful medium and mechanism for comms and mutt is a perfect companion :)

2025-04-08 17:11:32 UTC

@npub19c6…ttya Pursuant to your interests? :-)
https://github.com/jasonjmcghee/livelove

2025-04-03 22:40:14 UTC

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Welcome to the dark side! We have… Awesomely nerdy keyboards! :)

2025-03-21 02:43:54 UTC

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I've heard friends GUSH about Keychron!

2025-03-21 02:06:23 UTC

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Maybe I just got unlucky! Glad to hear you had better luck.
To be honest, I'm a bit betwixt and between with regard to my mechanical keyboard preferences.
I'm currently using a Razer Blackwidow here at home which I like a lot in terms of build, feel and ergonomics, but it suffers from a proprietary Windows only settings / lighting control program.

2025-03-21 02:01:58 UTC

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Sorry to hear but I've got to admit I've bought 2 keyboards from them because I enjoyed their designs and was super disappointed by the build quality of both.
The one I have at work has had several switches and key stabilizers broken just from the keyboard being jounced around during office moves.

2025-02-20 16:45:15 UTC

It occurred to me this morning that our current moment here in America has *everything* to do with Arisia versus Boskone.
I don't mean the actual groups depicted in the Lensman novels, I mean their divergent philosophies.
Boskone: War and conflict are good. They cull the weak and allow the fit and strong to survive and thrive. Thus is human culture perfected.
Arisia: Civilization must be cultivated like a seed, carefully planted, tended and encouraged to grow straight and strong. The principles of science and reason should rule the day, and conflict and bloodshed should be avoided as they inhibit advancement across many axes.
I'm paraphrasing here but you get the idea.
One side thinks government is a blight, acting as a hostile parasite, draining away the vital resources of society wherever it rears its ugly head. It has a very strong idea of what "normal" is and anything outside those lines is weak and must be culled. Diversity is also a blight.
The other thinks government is here to help and that a social safety net is worth investing in. It encourages diversity in all its forms and recognizes that a wide variety of perspectives are a huge advantage in problem solving.
I know which side I'm on but I also recognize there is merit in at least understanding both.

2025-02-10 18:08:48 UTC

@npub1hyj…avly I realize I'm succumbing to my baser techno-tribal instincts but seeing ***78%*** say they use #Vim / #Neovim warms the cockles of my big nerdy heart :)
(I love emacs too and ran it for yonks but hard not to enjoy seeing others enjoy the same tools you do!)

2025-02-05 17:53:52 UTC

I feel like The Cult of the Entrepreneur has totally taken over the technology world.
I want to create the Cult of Technology is FUN.
Who's in? :)

2025-01-21 14:32:08 UTC

I am shocked but unsurprised that fucking Elon Musk *literally* giving Trump a Sieg Heil.
Why isn't the Jewish community rioting in the streets?
Why is this getting hardly any press?

2025-01-16 12:37:56 UTC

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don’t several open source password managers support pass keys though? Or am I not understanding the subtle nature of the problem?

2025-01-14 16:18:16 UTC

I've started thinking differently about the diaspora from Failbook and Twitter.
Sure, lots are fleeing to Bluesky, which at least for this very picosecond seems a better option.
But LOTS are also fleeing elsewhere, and lots more are simply turning off social media.
And this is, I think, all for the good.
Every tiny thread we can pry away from the Gordian knot that is profit and virality seeking algorithmic social media, the better off we'll be as a society.
The internet is only beautiful in the small. I think the Fediverse and its anti-virality by design is an excellent example of that.

2025-01-13 21:31:48 UTC

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You're right, and it's kinda killing me.
And I think there's something to be said here for things that can make people FEEL like monsters (when they aren't) as opposed to people whose actions mean they ARE in fact monsters.
I first encountered Gaiman's work in the late 80s in college. My visual media design teacher gave us the assignment to go to a comics store and find a book we *really* liked. Don't just pick the first men in tights book off the shelf, actually take the time to find something to be truly *engaged* by.
A conversation with the excellent and now long gone That's Entertainment of Worcester, MA where I went to school lead him to hand me Sandman #1 as well as an issue of Hellblazer.
I was in love.
Having physical deformities that are readily visible to anyone can put a bit of a headtrip on a kid. It's not like I'm Quasi-modo or anything but I walk funny and my partially blind eyes do funny things. I'm sure you can paint a picture.
Sandman really *spoke* to me, and I think I will now need to do some processing around the ways it spoke and what that means.
Why do humans have to suck so much?

2025-01-07 21:00:46 UTC

[@Linux_in_a_Bit](https://infosec.exchange/@Linux_in_a_Bit ) Would be GREAT if stereo receivers came with a DVI out port :)
Televisions have become SUCH a raging tire fire!
You can't buy a DUMB TV unless you do major acrobatics to get one.
All of it just smells anti-consumer.

2025-01-07 20:50:23 UTC

Is it me or is the #television hardware industry pulling an Apple and trying to manufacture customer need with this #8K bullshit?
4k feels barely real to me. I have a number of #4K blu ray discs and tbh I can barely tell the difference in the visuals on our recent high end Samsung 4K screen.
And with everyone streaming all the things anyway who the hell can *ACTUALLY* move enough bits for an 8K picture?
We already went through this silly dance a number of months back when our new TV demanded new cables because the old ones weren't 4K rates and couldn't push enough bandwidth, causing ALL KINDS of crazy ass edge cases with receiver and TV.
This just feels like a giant steaming pant load of a mess, and I feel for consumers. How is anyone supposed to navigate this?
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/01/hdmi-2-2-will-require-new-ultra96-cables-whenever-we-have-8k-tvs-and-content/

2025-01-06 17:42:40 UTC

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Pretty sure BitWarden will let you create a local vault.
Why not just try your idea and measure the delta? :)

2025-01-06 17:33:57 UTC

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It's an interesting idea.
However you're implying access to the physical backups of your password database.
You DID say "defense in depth" but... yikes :)

2024-12-11 19:52:12 UTC

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I don't mean to be dismissive but... Who cares?
At this point he's lost SO MUCH goodwill.
I'd wager the number of new WP installs has *plummeted*.

2024-12-11 13:47:03 UTC

#tmux afficianados: What are the big reasons you keep using tmux *locally*?
I know the benefits of using it for remote work, and fully intend to keep using it there, but I'm questioning whether it's worth the ongoing extra faff to run locally.
I only really ever use it to get random access to tabs/panes, and otherwise it seems to be costing me in ways that are making me question its value.
Examples:<li>Every time I choose a new terminal I need to faff with the truecolor settings so my apps like Neovim will work properly.</li><li>Having tmux auto-run on login means I miss anything printed by my shell at startup</li><li>I need to ensure all my apps are using the tmux copy/paste protocol.</li><li>After a bit less than a year using it I STILL haven't managed to get used to the history/search/selection mechanism. This isn't tmux's fault but still.</li>
#unix #nerdlife #shells #tmux

2024-12-10 21:28:06 UTC

@npub19c6…ttya I really get it WRT tmux BTW!
I made the leap a year or so ago and have been mostly liking it. The key thing it brought me that's priceless is a single, uniform, 100% consistent muscle memory interface for maintaining and switching tabs/panes.
However since I moved to #wezterm which I just adore and which is totally cross platform (Even works like a champion under #windows365
and makes an outstanding #WSL host!)
I'm wondering if I can achieve the same effect without much of the faff.
pueue sounds great for a whole variety of tasks. I will definitely check it out! I currently use tmux and/or screen for running docker compose up and the like and being able to observe the output.

2024-11-25 00:20:06 UTC

My wife and I just finished watching Gunpowder with Kit Harrington.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder
And, honestly, I *really* don't understand why the reviews are so mixed.
Apparently there are people who thought the violence was gratuitous...
Umm. FOLKS, that was an INCREDIBLY BRUTAL period in history!
We loved it, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good historical drama and can handle some serious depictions of brutality.

2024-11-23 04:02:55 UTC

Confession time, I had only ever heard of a trichobezoar from Sandman and wasn't *entirely* sure it was real.
Major props to the folks at Mass General for working yet another miracle and diagnosing this teen after she'd been misdiagnosed several times.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/11/surgeons-remove-2-5-inch-hairball-from-teen-with-rare-rapunzel-syndrome/

2024-11-21 21:23:48 UTC

What's your favorite Constructed Language?
#language #conlang #tokipona #klingon #trek #tolkien #elvish

2024-11-18 20:48:46 UTC

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It looks rendered to me. Blender or Maya maybe?

2024-11-12 18:52:30 UTC

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Wait, is this the website or the actual IOS app? Which IOS version are you running?
I was seeing some of this on an iPhone 13 Mini but much less son on an iPhone 16.
I genuinely love lots of things about Overcast's UI.
I should probably investigate Audiobookshelf's podcast support now that I've switched to that for all my audio book needs.

2024-11-06 17:49:00 UTC

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Yup. Nobody wants to hear this but Windows 11 is Just Fine for a lot of applications, especially when you layer WSL2 in. And if you're going to game, it's the path of least resistance.
That said I admire anyone willing to undertake gymnastics to get where they want to go while still using their chosen hardware / software platform, so definitely no judgement here either way :)

2024-11-05 22:58:34 UTC

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If you're dead set on gaming with a Mac by all means get the latest greatest. You won't regret it!
(Typing this FROM HELL on a Dell 38960 XPS desktop running Windows 11. WSL2 goes a *LONG* way for me anyway :)

2024-10-28 19:25:10 UTC

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Perception is a funny thing, isn't it? :)
I was just engaging someone in a conversation where he said his friends are moving.
I'm glad there's still lots of activity here. Long may the Fediverse Pythonista crowd wave :)

2024-10-28 19:11:44 UTC

So I'll take ownership of my own failings. My recent snark and commentary has been about the #python community as I see more of those folks chatting about fleeing to #bluesky
I won't deny that this idea makes me sad. I like open protocols and platforms. They're a rare and beautiful thing that *I* personally feel are worth working for, using and promoting.
But I do understand that not everyone sees this the same way, and in particular lots of folks view social media as ephemeral and unimportant in the larger scheme.
Maybe they're right and I need to let go, but I don't think they are and I have no intention of doing so :)
I will be sad to see you all go, and I will probably check in there and keep in touch for those that abandon their presence here because you're a crazy smart bunch whose work I admire.

2024-10-28 14:32:21 UTC

*deep breath*
To all the folks bemoaning what they see as the sorry state of #Mastodon:
If you think the #Bluesky
algorithmic crack pipe is going to be so much better because it's cherry flavored and they have protocols, just GO THERE and enjoy yourselves.
Otherwise? Stay, buck up, and help us build something better, because this is an experiment in decentralized social networking devoid of profit motive that's worth fighting for.
Thank you.

2024-10-28 13:56:18 UTC

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The situation really reminds me of the original definition of a Cargo Cult.
The stragglers still surviving on the platform have no working understanding of how key mechanisms work so they ignore them like natives using the engine casing from a WW2 era fighter to pound grain or something.

2024-10-18 22:01:21 UTC

Writing *good* thoughtful documentation always takes orders of magnitude more time than you expect it to.
Even if you expect it to :)

2024-10-14 16:28:44 UTC

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OK I read it.
Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick it's positively stunning and sad seeing all the proof organized into a report like this.
It's especially disappointing to me that nobody at the FSF has taken steps to have him forcibly removed.
Sure, give someone like him who has made HUGE contributions to the community in decades long past the chance to do the right thing, apologize and step down, but when he doesn't?
Every organization ever that was formed by anyone with a brain has mechanisms for forcing people out. It's never fun and always feels awful if you're the one holding the bludgeon, but sometimes ugly things are necessary in service to the greater good.

2024-10-11 02:42:52 UTC

I really enjoy #powershell in many ways. Its #objectpipelies are powerful and expressive, it seamlessly interfaces with a plethora of platform APIs, and its syntax is discoverable with incredibly rich tab completion and help on the command line or web.
I would love to find some way to bring these concepts to *nix for folks who might not be able or willing to switch to specialized shells like #nushell or #elvish. Both projects are amazing but I honestly can't afford the time to rewrite the rich functionality I get from zsh /oh my zsh/plugins.
Maybe when I retire :) Come to think of it, building similar functionality in nushell/elvish to what I have now would be a delightful rabbit hole to dive down. I think I shall put it in my "Shower Ideas" @npub1g6e…h2zd note for future inspiration :)
(For example, the #tmux plugin in oh my zsh has a setting to ensure that only *one* instance of tmux runs no matter how many shells I open.)

2024-10-09 18:54:17 UTC

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Do you think it's ever actually possible for a modern American corporation to NOT be evil over the long haul?
Feels to me like the way the current rules are structured almost DEMAND it.

2024-09-27 13:35:16 UTC

Good morning!
I'd like to gift some audiobooks to folks who might really enjoy them but don't have the money to spend on them.
On offer:
Three books by the amazing @npub1fdr…lvhs which I wholeheartedly recommend:
SUPER interesting insights here on the fugly economics of streaming services and what that means for artists and society:
Chokepoint Capitalism: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/5184389278326-chokepoint-capitalism
The adventures of Martin Hench, forensic accountant (If you're nerdy/techie but think Silly Valley is a bit insane, these are a must read :)
Red Team Blues:
https://libro.fm/audiobooks/5184389278339-red-team-blues
The Bezzle:
https://libro.fm/audiobooks/5184389278343-the-bezzle
This trilogy is a must read if you're into science fiction or even just a wild way of thinking about our role in the uinverse as humans on planet earth.
The Three Body Problem:
https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781427251992-the-three-body-problem
Drop me some Ye Olde Fashioned E-Mail at:
feoh at feoh dot org and let me know which ones you want!
And thanks to @npub1fdr…lvhs for turning me on to Libro FM which makes this possible! I'm loving their new two book a month plan :)

2024-09-26 14:21:58 UTC

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You're right in the sense that the language makes it easy to create very rigorous contracts and interfaces between subsystems, but isn't that concern kinda mitigated to an extent by things like services?
At AWS that's how it worked. Your product would be made up of a number of services communicating with REST or some other RPC (There's an internal one at Amazon called Coral.)
I'm *NOT* attributing this stance to you, but I often find that for lots of long time UNIX folk, "doing it right" means writing all your code in C which just doesn't fly in 2024.

2024-09-26 13:44:46 UTC

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While most of us think Java server apps and immediately flash to the horrors of J2EE and WebSphere/Weblogic and the like, a new generation of MUCH smaller convention over configuration frameworks have popped up like Play and, the onle that Open Metadata is written in, DropWizard.
(OMD is actually pretty neat BTW. If you have a lot of data in your org in different places and need a single source of truth for it all, this'll do it, and also do things like help track PII and the like for compliance reason).
Pardon me for taking your bemused rantlet and turning it into a treatise but sadly it's not like you and I get time around the water cooler to chat about these things :)
(2/2)

2024-09-26 13:44:31 UTC

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Ha! I see and you're absolutely right :)
What's interesting about Java IMO is that it may have seemed like a flash in the pan but it has a VERY long tail!
As recently as a couple years back I was helping my school teacher sister get a Java applet configured that she was using for a teaching course she was taking, and the applets just basically played audio and used the computer's mic!
Also? Java is one of those "cold, dark matter" programming languages. When I worked for Amazon, HUGE swaths, I mean HUGE of AWS are written in Java. It was as of a couple years ago when I left still far and away with most popular internal programming language for a host of adoption, support and tooling reasons.
And HELL I am *right his very moment* at work writing the Pulumi code to build the infrastructure to deploy Open Metadata, a server side Java application, to our freshly minted kubernetes cluster.
(1/2)

2024-09-26 13:33:07 UTC

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That's a VERY short rant!
Ordinarily I'd indulge my curiosity and ask for context, but I suspect you're vague-tooting for a reason :)

2024-09-25 18:27:44 UTC

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Ah ksh! That land of promise, where ungodly expensive workstation hardware granted its favors to the financially well endowed :)
I'm glad those features percolated outward finally, but in the end, sadly, as with most proprietary software, nobody cared because we had bash and then zsh and then a plethora of others which had all the fun toys and more :)

2024-09-25 18:12:05 UTC

#unix is awesome #oneliner #otd
"Hey UNIX, give me a list of all our infra projects that create databases sorted by linecount"
rg -l OLAmazonDB | xargs wc -l | sort
This message brought to you by the awesome power of #ripgrep and #xargs :)

2024-09-25 15:01:03 UTC

You GUYS I just bought myself a birthday present!!! :)
This was the first floppy drive I ever owned.
Coming from the 410 datasette I used for storage before this, it really WAS like getting into a Ferrari, putting petal to the metal, and saying "Warp 9, Engage!" :)
(OK so I mixed a few metaphors there but you get the idea)
The gent on ebay who was selling had it up for years, and kept offering $10 off, so I messaged him and said "Hey look I DO understand this IS a rare item, but there's no way I'm going to pay $200 for a piece of very delicate 40 year old electronics with mechanical parts that are prone to failure" so he offered to meet me halfway and I bought it for $150.
Now I need to actually go buy some floppies!
There's no practical reason for this given that I own one of the awesome #fujinet wifi adapters, but sometimes indulging a bit of pure nostalgia can be good fun :)
#retrocomputing #atari8bit #floppy
https://assets.oldbytes.space/assets.oldbytes.space/media_attachments/files/113/198/774/930/366/763/original/a86b73273bfe4913.jpg

2024-09-11 13:38:58 UTC

A truth about technological progress that I am coming to realize is almost universal is "that which empowers also enfeebles".
I'm thinking right now about the move from physical paper books to digital.
There's a huge "MIT used book sale" happening today. That kind of thing just doesn't happen in the digital book universe.
It COULD in a fair world, but yay unconstrained megacorp capitalism, it currently can't.
No reason Amazon couldn't set up a system where I could transfer my Kindle books to anyone for $0 or some fee if that's what I was going for. But this will never happen because from their perspective it would represent investment without return, and a diminishment of sales on new titles.
Stupid, myopic narrow minded thinking will kill us all.

2024-09-09 15:45:02 UTC

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Are you saying that most people don't understand what Capitalism actually is and thus tend to blame it for things the actual idea(s) have no connection with?
I do refer to it fairly often, but almost always in the context of things where profit motive and any given set of potentially incompatible goals, ideals and principles might come into conflict.
Am I mis-using or mis-understanding the term?
Seriously looking to educate myself here, sorry if I'm unintentionally deflating an attempt at humor.

2024-09-05 19:06:03 UTC

Dear Fediverse hivemind. The charity I'm volunteering for is working on a #nodejs project, and I'm wondering about what #security #infosec tools we should be including in our CI/CD pipeline. Were this a #python project I'd be suggesting Bandit but I'm out of my depth and floating un-tethered in #node space. Please advise, and thanks in advance!

2024-09-04 17:47:07 UTC

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That's interesting. For YEARS I'd get a serious 'tude whenever I mentioned the idea of buying Dell, although I suspect that's because I know a lot of people who can build their own PCs and wouldn't dream of buying prebuilt.

2024-09-04 15:30:57 UTC

I know this is gonna make all the cool PC building kids cringe, but I just had a really great experience with #dell Pro service.
The tech knew his stuff, explained the problem and showed me the likely cause of the heat sink malfunction.
Given that my newish desktop only started acting up on the Friday before the long weekend, this is honestly pretty great customer service.
Respect. They may be the evil empire of PCs, but the trains run on time :)

2024-09-03 15:58:40 UTC

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The angry potato is a VERY nice touch BTW! :)

2024-08-30 01:57:15 UTC

So I just installed @npub1s7z…46s8 0.11.latest using:
snap install --edge --classic nvim
It was instantaneous. Remind me why I'm supposed to hate snaps again?
#ubuntu #canonical #wsl

2024-08-23 21:48:23 UTC

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I had similar problems although what I ended up finding is that the situation is even further complicated by the fact that is near as I can tell, they are a layer after layer of differing paradigms baked into the standard image and trying to figure out which documentation applies to any given set of choices, you might make can be very challenging.

2024-08-20 19:59:05 UTC

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You're making me want to attempt Nix again despite finding the documentation impenetrable last time (I'm sure it's amazing and PEBKAC.)

2024-08-19 16:49:02 UTC

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It was. Take a look at the Wikipedia article I linked. In addition to CSS or used an additional Triple DES encryption.

2024-08-19 15:30:07 UTC

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It was honest to god one of the worst video media ideas I've ever heard.
I wonder if it's even possible to play that media now, even if you have the appropriately chipped player.
It's also interesting & amusing to me that Zenith made a player for these god foresaken things in its dying moments before going bankrupt!

2024-08-19 14:32:49 UTC

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Which? The codec or the HORRIBLE failed video disc format?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIVX

2024-08-18 20:28:06 UTC

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May I recommend CARROT weather? It's paid but it's also phenomenal :)
https://www.meetcarrot.com/weather/
It's honestly the epitome of a well designed IOS app.

2024-08-15 16:03:16 UTC

OK so my "This FEELS fishy AF" alarm continues to ring over @npub19kd…t56d - They've now added a crypto wallet to their portfolio.
An infosec guy who thus far seems pretty damn amazing that recently joined a charity project I'm working on LOVES it.
Why does something STILL feel sleazy about these folks to me?
Am I being foolish? Is their secret sauce actually awesome?
Help me #infosec kinobe, you're my only hope :)

2024-08-15 15:09:18 UTC

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Wow sorry to hear.
I used to have sincere problems masking with the usual paper/cloth masks as well. Felt like I couldn't draw enough breath and over time would get woozy. Plus they ALWAYS fog up my glasses and I can't work or even really live that way.
I realize it won't help you bit it might help others, this has been a life changer:
https://www.flomask.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqBd5PsdAhgk7gFSpJOTgSkur1I_zLB3T5t6ujKR0N9UoBtwwrU

2024-08-15 14:56:20 UTC

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Funny that you say that.
I got it last weekend because I was at a memorial service for a really good friend who died unexpectedly last week.
WHY I didn't think to wear a mask when attending an event in a building erected in 1905 back when ventilation and air conditioning were NOT a thing? I have no clue. I could claim grief but that's just dumb :)
I have a Flomask which I love, I think I'm just gonna commit to masking at public events ALL the time so I can really burn the habit in. I'm sick of being sick :)

2024-08-15 14:50:31 UTC

Hey everybody. There's a NASTY strain of influenza rocking and rolling through the populace this summer. I'm feeling more human again on day 4, but it S-U-C-K-E-D.
Be careful out there and take care of each other!