Bitslingers-R-Us

Runner of hardware older than most of you (you know if you're an exception). An excellent person to be around after the apocalypse.

Public Key

npub12nduy2vqgzaq60se9eeqselx39jumljmj42svhsdcp4evkt2yu8qcjw7nk

NIP-05 Address

anachronistjohn_at_zia.io@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9fk7z9xqypwsd8cvjuusgvlngjewdlede24gxtcxuq6ukt94zwrspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds05aaz4

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nostr-pub.wellorder.net

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub12nduy2vqgzaq60se9eeqselx39jumljmj42svhsdcp4evkt2yu8qcjw7nk

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Last Notes

2026-05-24 07:09:07 UTC

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Also...
Next versions of Firefox and Chromium are dropping BSD support. I mean, everybody uses Linux and Windows. Show me the metrics anyone uses these browsers on anything else. BSD users should just use a normal operating system. This is modern computing, there is only Linux and Windows. Do you have a chart that says how many Firefox and Chromium users are not using Linux and Windows? The BSDs are just weird custom things. Of course Firefox and Chromium only support Linux and Windows, what else would they support? They target the 95%, everyone uses Linux and Windows.

2026-05-15 17:47:44 UTC

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Which x64 are you running? aarch64, amd64 or 21x64? ;D
I see this all the time. People who aren’t sysadmins want me to run their things on Ubuntu, and I have to remind them that I’m the systems administrator, and if they want to drive to the office on the weekend when something bad happens or fix everything when an update borks everything, they’re welcome to use Ubuntu. But if they want reliability and reproducibility, I’ll run what’s best for providing that, which is NetBSD.
They use excuses like everyone else runs it, or what about these features they don’t even understand…

2026-03-17 20:31:11 UTC

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Helsinki Central Library Oodi has lots of 3D printers, but that's a fancy place with lots of things regular libraries don't have.
I only know of one US library with 3D printers, and that's in a rather wealthy neighborhood.
I'd consider splitting the cost of a 3D printer with a friend, if I knew someone nearby with whom I could share one.

2026-03-17 16:24:23 UTC

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It's definitely nice to have space and tools! I don't, but I can borrow a Skilsaw and/or visit people with space and tools for woodworking.
Since PCI{,e} cards don't weigh a lot, a holder printed from a 3D printer wouldn't require a ton of filament.
Some libraries have 3D printers, and some hackerspaces offer discounted rates for people without a lot of money.
I'm with you regarding the reality that sometimes we have to buy what's best for us in spite of the underlying shittiness of the company that makes it. It's good to acknowledge that we're going to have an insignificant effect on the big picture, so sacrificing our time, money and energy where it could be better spent elsewhere isn't the smart thing to do.
OTOH, getting a Bambu in to the hands of someone like you who could help reduce the control the company has over the products would certainly be a net win :)

2026-03-17 16:00:48 UTC

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Years ago at work I got frustrated with how poorly PCI and PCIe cards stack or live together, so I got a 1" x 4" piece of wood, then cut 1/2" deep slots in to it at a slight angle. Then, all the cards could sit in the slots and be lined up nicely.
I should do that again for my own cards.

2026-02-19 21:20:16 UTC

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"We really want to be liked by more corporations. How about we embrace accelerated enshittification?"
- Debian folks, probably.

2026-01-10 06:06:47 UTC

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Cars of this era can teach people lots. You don't need power doors, power locks, a computer in your dashboard, buttons for everything, headlamps that come on automatically but leave your tail lights off, an always-running cellular connection, "features" that you pay monthly subscriptions for, tracking, et cetera.
I have a 1981 Diesel Chevette that I drive everywhere. I'm glad it's all 100% mechanical. It'll still be running after the apocalypse.

2026-01-08 18:50:33 UTC

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Some Untied States states are trying to make it mandatory.
I have an ancient Airplay speaker. Guess what? It still works. Maybe these things simply should never need "cloud", or when "cloud" ends, they still just work.

2026-01-08 01:31:35 UTC

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"Modular": You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

2026-01-06 23:06:15 UTC

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I can't watch / listen to the Americanized version of Pokemon, Meowth particularly.
It took a good decade of living on the west coast before I started to recognize that the actors faking a New York accent sound slightly similar to the real thing. When I first moved, they didn't sound even remotely similar, and I couldn't understand how people could possibly mix them up.
These days the fake accents still sound ridiculous, but I can see some similarities.

2025-11-06 04:13:50 UTC

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I voted, too! ♥️

2025-11-05 21:52:47 UTC

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This is an overused excuse that's not a barrier to running a mail server.
If your server's network has a bad reputation and is on blocklists, there are other options. You can find a reputable mail provider and smarthost through them. You can smarthost through a friend's server. You can purchase a cheap VPS and smarthost through that.
The point is that all the advantages of running your own server (or as many of them as you care about) are all still there. For instance, you can have real, physical possession of your data, keeping it out of the hands of unscrupulous corporate entities that'll sell your data for pennies. You can decide precisely who and how to block. You can have full logs of all attempted deliveries, both from you and to you. Smarthosting takes none of that away.

2025-10-28 21:48:26 UTC

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r/selfhosted is where I experiment on gatekeepers who swear that self hosting email can't be done, shouldn't be done, and if you're doing it, no you aren't.
It's fascinating, really, and it's good practice to learn how to deal with people who only repeat what they've heard / read.

2025-10-23 22:05:19 UTC

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> There are really not many jobs that actually require a penis or a
> vagina, and all other occupations should be open to everyone.
> -- Gloria Steinem
This, but not just about jobs.

2025-09-27 05:52:24 UTC

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Thanks to @npub1v04…z5zk, I'll never not see this when I see airplanes at airports.
https://zia.io/media/ac170c7aa9c17644ddff7206d98a7829593f90ecf9721508605e4155042e80fe.jpg

2025-09-13 18:47:33 UTC

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How old do you need to get to run in 4 megs? I'm running modern #NetBSD 11 in 10 megs (Mac LC II), and it's hardly usable for much, so I'm considering an older NetBSD for this machine.
NetBSD 11 running in 36 megs (Mac LC III+) is enough to compile large packages like Perl. Does Linux really need 64 megs just to run? Can you compile on it?
It is amazing to think about how much was possible in hundreds or thousands of bytes. We need to resurrect more of that magical software.

2025-09-13 15:18:00 UTC

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Before the beginning of this year, my primary computer was a 2011 MacBook. Most web sites were slow. I decided to open the web inspector in Safari and use the Timeline and Network panes.
I'm no web developer, but you don't have to be to see what can safely be blocked. Do we need files from adsafeprotected.com, or adkernel.com, or admaster.cc? Do we need domains that serve nothing but 1K to 2K GIFs? How about hostnames with "pixel" in the name, like pixel.wp.com? Anything with "analytics" in the name?
The way I block is similar to how Pi-hole works: I created a generic zone file that returns all queries as 127.0.0.1, and for each domain, subdomain or hostname, I add a new zone in BIND that uses the generic zone file.
After a few iterations of this, the amount of memory that web sites took, the speed at which they loaded, and the speed at which I could browse sites without my fans running at full speed made me feel like I was using the web from a decade earlier.
Unlike many ad blockers, I feel much more in control this way and can block things that more directly impact the sites I frequent.
Just something to consider.

2025-08-18 14:51:50 UTC

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I thought the WiFi stuff is behind the metal covered chip in the corner next to the 40 pin header, and that the chip with an added heat sink is the SOC...

2025-08-10 21:14:18 UTC

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Sure, but that just means people should be careful.
For instance, I have colocated machines with uncapped bandwidth. I can run stuff without having to worry about getting some multi-thousand dollar bill at the end of the month. But people who are hosting services with typical providers, of course, would need to be very deliberate and careful to make sure they don't come close to their maximum transfer.
So are you talking about setting up a Peertube co-op that hosts videos for a thousand users? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? I'm curious because I'd be willing to offer resources.

2025-08-10 20:43:42 UTC

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It shouldn't cost much, if you already have machines on networks with decent bandwidth. Then again, I know all "cloud" things are meant to extract profit once they become popular, and video hosting could easily go from nothing to something quickly.
How many terabytes of storage and how many terabytes of transfer per month are we talking about here? This could easily be started on resources that some of us already have and can be scaled up later, rather than using "cloud" and worrying about some huge bill at some point.

2025-08-10 13:05:41 UTC

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In the Untied States, at least, mega corporations like Verizon and AT&T took billions of dollars intended for rural broadband delivery, then never delivered, so it shouldn't be all that surprising that there are still large rural areas that only have dial-up.

2025-08-09 15:22:53 UTC

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Looks like fun :D
How do they do audio these days? Is it over the radio, or via some app? Some other way?

2025-08-02 13:48:51 UTC

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Serious question: does anyone actually think SonicWall isn't a complete joke with good marketing?

2024-12-30 23:59:18 UTC

Did you know that #NetBSD #m68k can compile itself from scratch?
How long would you imagine it might take to compile NetBSD 10 from source on real m68k hardware? Earlier this year I wanted to find out, so I set up a Macintosh to try it.
The toolchain, OS and installation sets started on 16-March and finished on 10-May:
build.sh started: Sat Mar 16 17:04:20 UTC 2024
build.sh ended: Fri May 10 00:35:54 UTC 2024
4692724.22 real 3810544.56 user 700310.18 sys
That's 1303 and a half hours, or almost eight weeks, or 54 days.
Installing the OS using build.sh took another four hours (4:08:39).
The kernel took another almost 21 hours (20:55).
That's a lot of time, but it worked without issues, and the system runs happily!

2024-12-25 20:42:31 UTC

#NetBSD package building is moving from Q3 to Q4. While updating everything, I figured I'd take some time to share some background on the machines building NetBSD pkgsrc packages.
Going in no particular, I'll start with #Alpha.
https://zia.io/media/0df3bfbf818e8a44e7beccfe22d51b67795285ec5a3142dd087b9a7a3d37a858.jpeg

2024-09-08 07:17:59 UTC

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Reminds me of this. The mailbox part happened to my brother not long ago, and the getting hit by a car part happened to me more than once as a teenager. I doubt I'd fare so well now.
https://zia.io/media/c7570f602147b5a08f616db5f5ca8026a1eef63f8ec287d3d23a5c436989ba54.png