R.L. Dane :Debian: :OpenBSD: :FreeBSD: 🍵 :MiraLovesYou:

My blog: https://rldane.space/
My scripts: https://codeberg.org/rldane/scripts

#Fediversian since late 2018, full-time #fediholic since early 2022.
First-wave #twexodee.

NOTE: Most of my toots are in markdown (rich text). Your client might mangle the formatting. Public statuses can be best viewed on on this instance's web interface. Your client should give you an option to copy the post's link.

Imported profile from fosstodon:

Involuntary time-traveler, recipient of offensive grace. Quasi-technical Linux and FOSS enthusiast. Armchair privacy advocate

Profile pic is my own, copyright me.

Header image courtesy of NASA: https://unsplash.com/photos/Q1p7bh3SHj8

My #interests:

#StarWars
#StarTrek
#Linux
#UNIX
#Bible
#Christianity
#Jesus
#AmateurRadio
#Bash
#Dallas
#Writing
#Poetry
#Space
#KSP
#Tea
#FountainPens
#Journaling
#TabletopRPG
#RetroComputing
#ClassicMac
#uxn

#fedi22

Public Key

npub185unhqkrqs4736kk27mqn5z5ervnf0swy6dlwnzk7uhk86jg6r0set8tc6

NIP-05 Address

rl_dane@polymaths-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsr6wfmstpsg2lgatt90dsf6p2v3kf5hc8zdxlhf3t0wtmrafydphcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds4cg726

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub185unhqkrqs4736kk27mqn5z5ervnf0swy6dlwnzk7uhk86jg6r0set8tc6

Show more details

Published at

2026-04-11T14:14:07Z

Kind type

0 Metadata

Event JSON

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Last Notes

2026-03-28 12:47:43 UTC

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@nprofile…atnr
lol you make it sound like I was the only one 🤣

2026-03-26 04:09:45 UTC

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@nprofile…f83y @nprofile…sq2g
Holy crap, that's strike two.
AGENTS.md was strike one. I didn't see it until someone else pointed it out. I was searching for "claude" and "llm," but didn't know to look for "agents."

2026-03-25 23:35:34 UTC

@nprofile…sq2g
I noticed you have a very nice-looking alternative client for Keepass and BitDefender.
I couldn't find any statements on LLMs on the project page.
Do you have a policy? I think some folks would be very interested in a no-AI keepassxc alternative.
Thanks!

2026-03-25 00:00:11 UTC

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@nprofile…h3v3
Any tricks on finding good batteries for old Thinkpads?
This has been a problem for me. Either the stock/internal one is a little worn out and dies rapidly when it reaches 40%, or the third party external batter I order... basically does the same. 🤦🏻‍♂️

2026-03-24 11:46:58 UTC

If you really believe in the silly 250 character limit, then why the heck is everyone posting "3/12" continuation threads?
Either the limit is a good idea, and nobody should post multi-part toots, or its a dumb idea, and should be retired (in favor of a ~6k post limit). One or the other. Cut the crap, already.
I'd 100x rather see long posts shortened with a "See more" button than yet another toot that ends with "1/" 🤦🏻‍♂️
Forcing people to create threads just to get their thought across is terrible UX, and I'm tired of being diplomatic about it.
#Mastodon #GoToSocial #GtS #snac #fediverse

2026-03-21 17:05:29 UTC

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@nprofile…wslp
I'm going to test out Mint Mobile's "Home MINTernet" in the coming weeks to see if it's as good as their parent company's offering (T-mo), as it's nearly half the price. :D
I can't believe I'm paying $20 for 15GiB of cellular data. What a time to be alive. XD

2026-03-21 12:10:29 UTC

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@nprofile…wslp
T-Mobile is who I get my home internet through, which is funny, because that's a German company, no? XD

2026-03-20 21:50:43 UTC

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@nprofile…wslp
Yeah, I've heard internet access in Germany is really, really bad. I don't get that. Northern Europe has amazing and cheap internet access.
Here in the U.S., I pay $50/mo for ~200mbps via cellular, and may switch to one that's $30/mo.

2026-03-20 21:21:10 UTC

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@nprofile…wslp
Yeah man, the porting experience was even pretty easy. I had to call AT&T's support line for the porting pin, as I was on a business line (they were almost crying to see me go, I'd been a customer for decades), but once I got that, it just took a couple minutes and the mint mobile app (which seems to have a good number of trackers, may want to use the private space feature of android) guided me through the steps. Very easy.

2026-03-20 20:59:45 UTC

Gotta say, for $20/mo, this is pretty flipping incredible!
#LOSSYPNG #monochrome
https://polymaths.social/fileserver/01HCMX6M1CZNEVJ4F5H58TT5XJ/attachment/original/01KM6GJJXW6Z0D76RG7HHDNRVB.png

2026-03-20 12:23:18 UTC

Could someone please tell the maintainer of https://openports.pl (#OpenBSD Ports search) that the cert has expired? 😥

2026-03-19 20:05:40 UTC

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@nprofile…9atz
Yes, it's what I've been using for the past few months.
My only negatives with it is the fact that they block the captive portal detection, and you have to turn off some of the more extreme security settings in order to get a lot of websites to work.
Otherwise, they're both very good #Firefox forks.

2026-03-19 17:27:17 UTC

Well, that's depressing. :(
https://codeberg.org/small-hack/open-slopware
List of #FOSS projects using #slop (yes, including the Linux kernel and of COURSE systemd)
#NoAI

2026-03-19 15:12:42 UTC

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@nprofile…hth5
Sadly, they're badly infected by silicon valley corporate brainrot.
#Thunderbird seems to be going in a good direction, though. They have different management.

2026-03-19 15:00:27 UTC

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@nprofile…hth5
Same, been using FF since before it was called FF! (Mozilla Milestone 16 / M16) ;)
https://web.archive.org/web/20000815052646/http://mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/release-notes/

2026-03-19 14:52:08 UTC

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@nprofile…hth5
It's not trying to be a new browser like Zen (which, if you like that, cool, whatevs ;), and it's not trying to be so secure that it breaks basic things like captive portal detection, like LibreWolf.
It's minimally different from Firefox, and I'm totally here for that. It also seems to have shorter toolbars (I forget the name of the setting) set by default, so it uses up a little less screen real estate than stock firefox.

2026-03-19 14:42:00 UTC

Trying out #Waterfox now.
So far, really liking it. Not too great a departure from stock #firefox.
I may make it my default!

2026-03-03 15:58:25 UTC

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@nprofile…ml9f
I mean, if it worked for Thoreau and Jesus, you're probably on the right track. ;)

2026-03-03 15:18:53 UTC

WHAT THE FUCK.
https://www.rawstory.com/military-2675544403/

2026-03-02 17:37:50 UTC

Samsung 870 EVO SATA III SSD 1TB 2.5” Internal Solid State Drive
Price on 2025-10-04: $ 94.99
Price on 2026-03-02: $179.99
🙄
#AI #RAMShortage #SSDShortage #Enshittification #LateStageCapitalism

2026-02-22 00:58:21 UTC

Well, this is forking intolerable.
#Firefox is officially #enshittified.
It turned on the horrid "sponsored shortcuts" and "sponsored stories" without me asking.
Those stories are the last dadgum thing I ever want to see. I don't want more news about USFASH.
Smeg #Mozilla. I hope Google bumps them off the money-nipple and they crash and burn.
I'm going to try #WaterFox and #LibreWolf again.
#enshittification #e14n
https://polymaths.social/fileserver/01HCMX6M1CZNEVJ4F5H58TT5XJ/attachment/original/01KJ1DNGW7SRQBEHPQ7S8091ZD.webp
https://polymaths.social/fileserver/01HCMX6M1CZNEVJ4F5H58TT5XJ/attachment/original/01KJ1DNH5KPNA7HW003PSHC45C.png

2026-02-19 19:11:42 UTC

I was coming very close to switching to Rossmann/Merrill's new #privacy-focused #cellular carrier, #Phreeli, but it has a #BindingArbitration clause, too.
* Long, soul-rattling sigh
So, I guess I'll just switch to #MintMobile instead and pay half as much.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
cc: @nprofile…q4cr

2026-02-19 14:17:51 UTC

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@nprofile…ml9f
Man, that quote (and the Dr. Soran quote that it refers to) gets deeper and more intense as I age.

2026-02-17 03:16:36 UTC

Tooting publicly what I recently said in a direct message:
I really, really want to see a linux distro that says,
"Ok, we're taking all of the components out there, picking a core set of needed components, and OWNING THEM. We will contribute upstream, fork when necessary, and will ship an absolutely complete and well-documented OS."
(Also, "We will not chase the latest trends, nor will we adopt the latest geegaw from Poettering, et. al., unless it actually fixes something that needed fixing.")
'Tis the dream.
https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=89dGC8de0CA
cc: @nprofile…8u0e
P.S., YES I BASICALLY MEAN BSD, but maybe with the Linux kernel and GNU utilities? XD

2026-02-12 15:27:23 UTC

#TIL you can use vim/nvim as a pager directly, like
some_command |vim
Even better than that, you can redirect a file into vim like
vim < some_file.txt
The advantages of this over view/vim -R are twofold: one, it is literally impossible to overwrite the file, unless you manually type :w exact_filename within vim. Second, you can safely edit the buffer without getting any warnings of being in read-only mode, because you're editing an ephemeral buffer, not the file.
Disclaimers: I did not actually learn this today, but within the last 12 months. Also, this doesn't work in vanilla vi/nvi.

2026-02-10 21:40:52 UTC

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@nprofile…f4r9
Raspi is better than most ARM software by virtue of the fact that they value openness (to a limited extent), and that their hardware is very popular.
Apple, on the other hand, is extremely popular (as ARM goes, anyway), but they do not at all value openness, so you have herculean efforts like Asahi.
Other manufacturers like #Pine64 value openness (more so than Raspi), but they're not as popular.
The truth table ends up looking like this:
manu- | values | is | end
facturer | openness? | popular? | result
---------+-----------+----------+-------
RasPi | yes | yes | good
---------+-----------+----------+-------
Apple | NO | YES | meh
---------+-----------+----------+-------
Pine64 | YES | no | meh
---------+-----------+----------+-------

2026-02-10 14:16:52 UTC

I'm looking at two #ARM devices sitting on my dresser, both tablets.
One is a locked-down piece of garbage, designed to be a locked-down piece of garbage. I regret buying it, because its utility is obscured by the horrible software stack on it, but it was stupidly cheap, an easy fire-and-forget purchasing decision.
The other is a lovely piece of open hardware, designed for openness, designed for linux. It was graciously sent to me by a #fedifriend last year. It is sadly out of support from the distro that supported it, and is basically stuck at nearly 10-year-old software versions without any path for an upgrade, unless I do some insane skill levelling-up and do an ARM #LFS on it, or something else nearly as hacky.
Both devices are sadly useless to me, even though one was designed to be a closed surveillance helldevice, and the other an open platform.
This is because ARM sucks. It has always sucked, and it will always suck. There are no open hardware interface standards, no easy way to address the hardware with FOSS drivers, and even when you do have FOSS software for it, it rarely finds its way upstream. The hardware itself is inspired, but the software/firmware/driver stack is utterly Kafkaesque.
I'm not going to belittle folks who get Apple Silicon devices to run linux on them, nor would I ever besmirch the heroic, herculean efforts of the #Asahi team to get linux working on that hardware, but please never forget that those are herculean efforts, and should they ever cease, your hardware support is dead in the water.
As for me, I'd rather have a thermal-belching, potato-performant Intel Atom-based brickphone than a sleek, battery-sipping, crazy-performant ARM laptop. 😅

2026-02-08 18:07:21 UTC

New #blog #post: Paper Books vs. e-books vs "librebooks?"
https://rldane.space/paper-books-vs-e-books-vs-librebooks.html
1210 words
cc: my wonderful #chorus: @nprofile…hy4k @nprofile…7t4r @nprofile…2zfv @nprofile…qnx8 @nprofile…clkd @nprofile…vd7p @nprofile…f83y @nprofile…xd8n @nprofile…gfsf @nprofile…z289 @nprofile…lp8t @nprofile…vaq2 @nprofile…ze5h @nprofile…jmwc
(I will happily add/remove you from the chorus upon request! :)
#rlDaneWriting #blost #media #books #ebooks #amazon #kindle #kobo #rakuten #DRM #deDRM

2026-02-08 17:16:41 UTC

Just curious: can anyone who has used both kindle e-readers and the kindle store and kobo e-readers and the kobo/rakuten store compare them for me?
I'm thinking along these lines:
selection of books
price of books
evilness of the company ;)
physical properties/features of the e-readers themselves
Any ideas? @nprofile…hy4k?
#AskFedi #HiveMind #eBooks #eReaders

2026-02-02 23:14:03 UTC

Soooo...
There doesn't appear to be a single US #cellular carrier that doesn't have a #BindingArbitration clause in their #ToS.
Shazbat. 💢🙄
#Arbitration #BindingArbitrationClause #Chicanery

2026-02-02 13:20:58 UTC

Haven't read it all, yet, and unfortunately I didn't save the toot that brought it to my attention, so I'm unable to credit/thank the person who originally linked it, but the Pope's statement on AI is actually kinda great:
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/messages/communications/documents/20260124-messaggio-comunicazioni-sociali.html
#Pope #NoAI #NoSlop

2026-02-01 22:28:33 UTC

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@nprofile…valu @nprofile…pfyz
There is a linux compatibility layer, and it can be containerized/Jailed, but it's not necessarily like running a full native linux container AFAIK.
I would really love to get #KerbalSpaceProgram (Linux native) working in #FreeBSD, but last I tried, it didn't want to work with compat_linux.

2026-02-01 22:15:10 UTC

New #blog #post: Examining The Ethics of Media Consumption and Sharing
https://rldane.space/examining-the-ethics-of-media-consumption-and-sharing.html
937 words
cc: my wonderful #chorus: @nprofile…hy4k @nprofile…7t4r @nprofile…2zfv @nprofile…qnx8 @nprofile…clkd @nprofile…vd7p @nprofile…f83y @nprofile…xd8n @nprofile…gfsf @nprofile…z289 @nprofile…lp8t @nprofile…vaq2 @nprofile…ze5h @nprofile…jmwc
(I will happily add/remove you from the chorus upon request! :)
#rlDaneWriting #blost #Media #Movies #Piracy #Sharing #Streaming #Disney #Netflix #Amazon #Bezos #Melania

2026-01-30 01:07:40 UTC

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@nprofile…z6pq
Does it taste like the original?

2026-01-30 01:06:56 UTC

Updated my blog's CSS so that <code> segments don't look like garbage.
The problem is that the way the theme is set up, it doesn't differentiate between in-line code snippets (defaulting to a white background) and code blocks, and the default code block color is very dark, and the default code color is also kind of dark, and it was miserable to see, before.
I started off picking IBM 3270 colors from cool-retro-term, but the default foreground color was too bright for in-line code blocks, so instead I picked an almost-black super-dark green for the foreground color, and a very light green for the background color. So hopefully it's vaguely reminiscent of a green-screen, but light instead of dark, and hopefully doesn't look like... key lime pie, which is what I think it looks like, but oh well. XD
Before: https://web.archive.org/web/20250618121134/https://rldane.space/unix-data-compression-shootout.html
After: https://rldane.space/unix-data-compression-shootout.html
#rlDaneWriting #blog #blost

2026-01-29 23:27:46 UTC

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@nprofile…z6pq
WHAT!!! THIS EXISTS AGAIN?!? Where can I get one? XD

2026-01-23 20:42:48 UTC

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@nprofile…t05x
Ever run it on bare metal? I've thought of trying it as a desktop OS. Not sure how well suited it is for that.

2026-01-21 04:17:27 UTC

Totally random #TheGoodPlace quote:
MICHAEL: If soul mates do exist, they're not found.
They're made.
People meet, they get a good feeling, and then they get to work
building a relationship, like your parents.
They didn't magically stay together because you proved they should.
CHIDI: It wasn't my logic or my representation.
It was... the feeling they got watching me,
this scared little kid telling them that he needed them.
MICHAEL: It was also what you made them remember.
You know, they loved each other.
Sometimes people forget.
You reminded them of what they already had.
...
CHIDI: Turns out life isn't a puzzle that can just be solved one time and it's done.
You wake up every day and you solve it again.
MICHAEL: Terribly inefficient.
CHIDI: Wow, (voice breaking) what a time to learn.
#TheGoodPlaceQuotes #S04E09 #TheAnswer

2026-01-19 21:24:16 UTC

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@nprofile…yhqn @nprofile…m0rx
"If you need bold and colours, it means you can’t write."
* glances at his markdown-formatting-heavy toots and blog posts 🫣
lol, love this Over/Under. :D
"We forget that a filesystem is, by definition, a database."
Preach that, yoooo!
I maintain my own file search system using find, grep, and zstd, and it is far faster than either Gnome or KDE's file index database.

2026-01-13 19:23:28 UTC

New #blog post: The Scenes that Made Me: The Good Place (2016)
https://rldane.space/the-scenes-that-made-me-the-good-place-2016.html
440 words
cc: my wonderful #chorus: @nprofile…hy4k @nprofile…7t4r @nprofile…2zfv @nprofile…qnx8 @nprofile…clkd @nprofile…vd7p @nprofile…f83y @nprofile…xd8n @nprofile…gfsf @nprofile…z289 @nprofile…lp8t @nprofile…vaq2 @nprofile…ze5h @nprofile…jmwc
(I will happily add/remove you from the chorus upon request! :)
#rlDaneWriting #blost #TheGoodPlace

2026-01-13 17:56:56 UTC

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@nprofile…nw6h
@nprofile…9atz @nprofile…vf35 @nprofile…hl5m are good starting points. 😁

2026-01-08 20:07:47 UTC

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@nprofile…hl5m
Can your mind train my mind to be nicer to me? 🤣

2026-01-03 02:31:30 UTC

Hey @nprofile…sftd,
I love how you're helping folks get off of windows with Nixbook.
How can I find a group near me that volunteers to do the same? Is there any group structure like the LUGs of old?

2025-12-04 20:38:05 UTC

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@nprofile…3frg @nprofile…e39l
I may be a theosimpleton, but I think no matter how you attempt to "slice" it, you manage to find your way to a very confusing place:
https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw
(Disclaimer: linking to this video does not mean I like all of that channel's videos)

2025-12-03 17:30:18 UTC

That feeling when you use a password so secure it would make Alan Turing wet the bed, but the webshite still insists on sending you a six-digit numeric code over unencrypted SMS which is literally a throwaway protocol using an unused bit of space in the comms packets... what the freaking Claude Shannon already... 😝

2025-12-03 00:12:54 UTC

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@nprofile…s7qj
You made it through 92.05% of 2025 with your sanity intact?!?
HERO!!! XD

2025-11-18 18:38:06 UTC

#OffMyChest: I honestly think people are being extremely reactionary to the news of Eugen stepping down, and overreacting by a parsec. — #microblogging #MicroToot: 134 characters

2025-11-07 21:15:50 UTC

My nerdy soul wants to try #Plan9 / #9Front sometime. XD

2025-10-28 18:46:27 UTC

If she's still in your life, please do me a favor: hug your mom for me. ... Thanks. 🥹 — #microblogging #MicroToot: 88 characters

2025-10-12 23:16:02 UTC

After conversations about "A.I." over my vacation (blog post to follow this week), I'm putting my money where my mouth is. I'm turning off DDG "AI" features in all my browsers (via a cookie setting).
Follow virtue, friends.
#AI #LLM #Ethics

2025-10-05 14:38:19 UTC

GOING ON SABBATICAL
See y'all in about a week!

2025-10-03 02:00:53 UTC

Me: browses to a site
Website: "Well HELLO!"
Dillo browser: "Hi, can I have your very finest plain HTML?"
Website: "PPP-PPPWWEEEEASE ENABLE JS AND DISABLE YOUR AD-BLOCKER, UWU"
Me: Twirls moustache and laughs maniacally

2025-10-02 18:12:23 UTC

Just in case anyone out there is still on #CalyxOS and wondering what to do while they're on hiatus, #IodéOS has been treating me pretty good. I'm even paying the ~$3/mo for the enhanced features (basically like a nice firewall plus TrackerControl-type features for your phone, that still lets you use a VPN as well)
#Iodé

2025-09-08 14:13:06 UTC

Hank Green talking about caffeine.
This is primo internet stuff, yo.
https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=p-Dy2pcdBSU
P.S. I love #tea

2025-09-06 15:43:38 UTC

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@nprofile…7thd
Just FYI, I've also noticed that some websites have a tendency to want to scroll left and right (have text just a little bit wider than the display) when Use remote CSS is turned on, no matter how wide you make the window.
My own https://rldane.space is an example of this, but I didn't write the CSS, nor indeed actually know anything about it, sorry. XD
I've also noticed that with some sites, if Use remote CSS is turned on, links don't show up colored or underlined, so something is somehow screwy with what they're doing with the CSS or how it's interpreted by the browser.
For example, the listings on this page don't appear linkified unless "Use remote CSS" is turned off: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=thinkpad%20t25

2025-09-06 15:13:35 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…7thd
I'm using Dillo 3.2.0 on Debian 13 with KDE Plasma Wayland.
I can paste with Ctrl+V, but neither selecting nor copying with Ctrl+C seem to change the system clipboard or primary selection at all.

2025-09-06 03:35:38 UTC

Viewing the PDF version of an html file (sans images) in #Zathura, my favorite keyboard-friendly #PDF reader: 157.5 MiB RAM used
Viewing the same original html file (with images) in #dillo: 40.0 MiB RAM used
in #NetSurf: 74.6 MiB
in #GnomeWeb / #Epiphany: 397.0 MiB (wow, kinda lean!!)
in #Falkon: 541.1 MiB
The same file in #luakit: 623.1 MiB RAM
in #firefox / #LibreWolf: 1.31 GiB (YEP)

2025-09-06 03:10:38 UTC

I can't believe it myself, but yes, I've made #Dillo my default browser on my personal laptops. It's never been my default, even though I've used it occasionally, off-and-on, for 25 years. XD
I still fire up #LibreWolf (#firefox fork) occasionally on those machines, but #DilloBrowser fits in this neat space between terminal browsers and "full-fat" browsers like Librewolf and #luakit.
I'm just wishing it had a "follow mode" for following links from the keyboard, and wondering if there was some way to make it use the clipboard by default, instead of primary selection. I don't quite understand why classic X11 programs use primary selection so much. XD
#SmolWeb

2025-09-03 17:42:58 UTC

#Underrated #KDE #Plasma feature: #Activities
Folks get these confused with virtual desktops, but think of it more like a totally separate environment for different tasks/projects.
You may use any number of virtual desktops to help organize the various subtasks or applications within a given job, but let's say you wanted a whole 'nother set of desktops for a different tasks.
Let's say you do your main work in your main activity, and you've got 6 or more desktops all firing on all eight cylinders with all kinds of terminal windows, browser windows, whatever. But let's say you've set aside a day for training, and you want to have a totally clean environment just for training/classes, without closing out all of the other stuff you have going on in your work Activity, because you want to jump right back into it tomorrow after training's done.
No worries, just go into System Settings, Apps & Windows -> Activities, and create a new activity. You can name it and give it its own icon, etc.
I use Super+~ to switch between activities — I confess I forgot what the default one is, but you can find it under System Settings, Input & Output -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts and either look it up there or change it to whatever you like.

2025-08-26 00:24:40 UTC

Finished season 1 in my third watch-through of #TheGoodPlace last night.
I think I'm going to give it a rest for a little bit so I can see if I can get a family member to watch it with me instead of watching it on my own.
Also, I want to do more constructive things with my evenings than just watching TV, maybe? XD

2025-08-25 17:53:53 UTC

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@nprofile…qz4x @nprofile…a474
Thank you so much. She fought really hard and gave us an extra four years to enjoy with her, even though she was in a lot of pain. She passed peacefully (thank you, modern medicine!) two weeks ago.
Truly a marvelous person. 💗

2025-08-25 17:48:54 UTC

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@nprofile…a474
Reminds me of the time that I loaded up the Library of Congress audiobooks for the blind program on my mom's phone with @nprofile…qz4x's audiobooks.
She really enjoyed listening to them, and we had interesting conversations afterward.
RIP Mom. 🥹

2025-08-24 22:17:44 UTC

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@nprofile…el4d
Still a little on the thin side, but acceptable. Let's see, it's 1/80th of the screen, so translated to 1080p, that's 24 pixels wide. Yeah, quite respectable, actually.
The original MacWrite had some CHONK scrollbars. :D

2025-08-24 19:29:36 UTC

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@nprofile…t4qe
@nprofile…fkj4's the #qutebrowser superfan. XD
For me, I've tried it and found it very usable for even fairly modern/intensive web sites, but the Blink (Chromium)-based backend (a sad limitation of modern Qt) keeps me from adopting it. Personal call.
For #dillo, it's never going to replace a modern web browser, but think of it as a great browser for the smol web. I can read any decent text-based page with it, even with a little bit of CSS formatting. It's far from perfect, and doesn't even pass the Acid2 test at this time. But it's a wonderful smol browser for the smol web. ;)
For every day heavy web stuff, I use #LibreWolf with the Vimium-C extension.

2025-08-24 19:08:42 UTC

My ~/.dillo/keysrc for vi-like/less-like navigation, in case it helps anyone :Dspace = screen-down
b = screen-up
<shift>space = screen-up
j = line-down
k = line-up
h = left
l = right
/ = find
#Dillo #DilloBrowser #25YearsOfAwesome

2025-08-24 18:48:16 UTC

Scrollbars belong outside a window's content, not as an overlay, and should never disappear or be thinner than a shoestring.
I will die on this hill.

2025-08-24 15:10:56 UTC

I remember reading a comment 10-20 years ago that said something to the effect of, "The Star Trek holodeck would be humanity's last invention."
There's nothing more potently addictive than a room that can conjure up every conceivable place, person, thing, whim, or desire.
I think what we're seeing with "AI" is a kind of "dialectical holodeck," where people enter in, wrap themselves up in a fantasy world created by a twisted algorithm designed to satisfy the user's curiosity and cater to their every verbal whim, and think it's their greatest reality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT_psychosis

2025-08-24 00:43:49 UTC

Just ordered my #Commodore64 Ultimate.
Here's to you, mom. 🥹
Thanks for getting this party started... 43 years ago :D

2025-08-22 03:16:12 UTC

Now halfway through season 1 of #TheGoodPlace on my third watch-through.
The more I watch this show, the more I am convinced that the people who run the world actively want it to be as unjust as imaginable.
Like, I've heard respectable moderates say things like, "Running things is hard and everyone is trying so hard to do the right thing," and I'm like, "Absolute poppycock!" The people who can really change things only care about making their own lives better. They're moral zombies (sociopaths) that should be in jail or six feet under, I dunno.

2025-08-21 19:33:35 UTC

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@nprofile…t4qe
I just wish for complete Unicode support.
ZFS would be nice, too, but that ain't happening. 😂

2025-08-21 11:49:58 UTC

New #blog post: Just a quick note...
https://rldane.space/just-a-quick-note.html
CW: Loss
cc: my wonderful #chorus: @nprofile…twp5 @nprofile…zppp @nprofile…kgaw @nprofile…uej9 @nprofile…y4z0 @nprofile…s82r @nprofile…4d9x @nprofile…68n3 @nprofile…5ryt @nprofile…7qn8 @nprofile…rtnf @nprofile…sh5g @nprofile…7nq4
(I will happily add/remove you from the chorus upon request! :)
#rlDaneWriting #blost #loss

2025-08-21 03:26:38 UTC

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@nprofile…4d9x
Only a wee bit. 😁
Being able to fit a terabyte of data inside your nostril is kind of cool, but I missed the standard SD form factor. It was about perfect.

2025-08-19 15:27:15 UTC

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@nprofile…4d9x
Fantastic write-up! :)

2025-08-19 00:16:54 UTC

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@nprofile…h9qy
What is checker?

2025-08-19 00:08:16 UTC

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@nprofile…h9qy
I made my own say script which attempts to use mimic, flite, gtts-cli, pico2wave, espeak, or espeak-ng, depending on what's available:
https://codeberg.org/rldane/scripts/src/branch/main/say
gtts and pico2wave are definitely worth checking out, as they sound pretty nice. gtts does require an internet connection, though.
Helpful article: https://thelinuxcode.com/command-line-text-speech-apps-linux/

2025-08-18 16:19:15 UTC

Potentially #UnpopularOpinion: The floppy disk icon should continue to be the universal save icon, even if most people alive today have never seen an actual floppy. The icon itself is the symbol, not the actual object. It's a lot easier to understand (even for new users, IMO) than something abstract, like an arrow pointing to a line (or a chip).
At the very least, I think it's more understandable than any symbolic icon I've seen thus far.

2025-08-16 19:32:05 UTC

Doing much better now, today. Had some good quality time w/ the fam today after being holed up in #adhd / #depression heck yesterday. thx4luvs #microblogging (142 characters)

2025-08-16 12:28:10 UTC

Just now realized (three and a half days later) that I'll never again get a pep talk phone call from my mom, and it absolutely guts me.
This is right around the time that I'd get a phone call, after spending a day in an unproductive, depressive mood.
She'd be sad and frustrated that I let things go for so long without talking to someone about what I was feeling or dealing with it, but would always end the conversation saying something incredibly loving and kind.
I'm over 50, and I had three years to prepare for the loss, but it's still absolutely devastating. It's a very, very slow burn. No explosive weeping (yet), but a long-term, deep soul-owie.
I don't talk about my family or personal life too much on here, because it's the internet in 2025, duh, but man, I miss her. She was such a gem. More so than she ever knew, no matter how much we tried to tell her.
Wish I had tried a little harder, maybe.

2025-08-12 04:16:15 UTC

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@nprofile…4d9x
Oh, definitely man, it's really well thought-out! <3

2025-08-11 21:46:59 UTC

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@nprofile…4d9x
Dude, legit list!!! Love it!
Kudos for including #Zathura, it's one of my all-time favorite viewers!

2025-08-09 19:34:38 UTC

New #blog post: Desperately Seeking Preview.app
https://rldane.space/desperately-seeking-previewapp.html
361 words
Kind of a follow-up to yesterday's blost, but also informative for those who work with PDFs in Linux.
Thanks to https://infinitemac.org for enabling me to get the screenshot of Preview.app on NeXTStep 1.0. So awesome!!!!
cc: my wonderful #chorus: @nprofile…twp5 @nprofile…zppp @nprofile…kgaw @nprofile…uej9 @nprofile…y4z0 @nprofile…s82r @nprofile…4d9x @nprofile…68n3 @nprofile…5ryt @nprofile…7qn8 @nprofile…rtnf @nprofile…sh5g @nprofile…7nq4
(I will happily add/remove you from the chorus upon request! :)
P.S., I really hope someone gets the 1980s movie reference. Even though I've never seen said movie. 😄
P.P.S., @nprofile…wtwk informs me that Firefox's built-in PDF viewer can do (almost) all of the annotation things I've been trying to do with multiple apps. I'm kinda shook!
#100DaysToOffload #50 #FIFTY! #HalfwayThere
#rlDaneWriting #blost #Macintosh #NeXT #NeXTStep #Retrocomputing (a little) #InfiniteMac #PreviewApp #PDF #PDFs #Linux

2025-08-08 20:59:38 UTC

New #blog post: What I Do and Don't Miss About MacOS
https://rldane.space/what-i-do-and-dont-miss-about-macos.html
1853 words
Part rosy-tinted retromemories, part acerbic political polemic, 99% UI kvetching.
Absolutely go eat a bushelful of eggplants, Tim Cook. And by eggplants, of course I don't mean the vegetable.
cc: my wonderful #chorus: @nprofile…twp5 @nprofile…zppp @nprofile…kgaw @nprofile…uej9 @nprofile…y4z0 @nprofile…s82r @nprofile…4d9x @nprofile…68n3 @nprofile…5ryt @nprofile…7qn8 @nprofile…rtnf @nprofile…sh5g @nprofile…7nq4
(I will happily add/remove you from the chorus upon request! :)
#100DaysToOffload #49
#rlDaneWriting #blost #Apple #Macintosh #RetroComputing #USPOL

2025-08-08 15:41:49 UTC

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@nprofile…ddv0
That's wild!
Speaking of 3d printing innovations, why are 3d printers stuck with only 3axes?
Just imagine how smooth a print you'd get with a 5-axis 3d printer. Every surface could be the top layer!!!
#3dPrinting

2025-08-06 20:32:22 UTC

Linking, rather than boosting, because this thread is way more hilarious than the OP would lead you to think.
https://retro.social/@ifixcoinops/114982598034239717
Title: "Free software people I am begging you to stop naming your software"

2025-08-06 17:09:29 UTC

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@nprofile…4d9x
Great read! I can't imagine life without a car, unfortunately, although I'd be willing to drive it if I lived in a not-automobile-oriented place.
Also, I lived with family for most of the last decade, and my car was my teensy little domain. It's a little hard to get away from that mentality.
P.S., haha, I meant to say "willing to try it," but "willing to drive it" is a great #FreudianSlip ;)

2025-08-06 15:06:32 UTC

Just got all new tires for my car.
$ouch$

2025-08-05 20:37:43 UTC

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@nprofile…elc8
Time to scour the DVD bargain bin at walmart/tesco/whatever big cheap shops are called wherever dear reader is at and start building your Jellyfin library.
The Internet Privacy Ice Age is upon us.
#InternetIceAge #PrivacyIceAge #InternetPrivacyIceAge

2025-08-05 18:33:07 UTC

I'm going to leave this here with no comment other than "this is why we can't have nice things," and, "don't yell at me for using grep, some implementations of find -name are wonky."
[rldane /home/public]$ uname
FreeBSD
[rldane /home/public]$ find /etc 2>&- |grep -c "[A-Z]"
18
[rldane /home/public]$
rldane@tilde.institute$ uname
OpenBSD
rldane@tilde.institute$ find /etc 2>&- |grep -c "[A-Z]"
52
rldane@tilde.institute$
rldane@rosa.tilde.pink$ uname
NetBSD
rldane@rosa.tilde.pink$ find /etc 2>&- |grep -c "[A-Z]"
173
rldane@rosa.tilde.pink$
~ $ uname
Linux
~ $ find /etc 2>&- |grep -c "[A-Z]"
672
~ $
Ok, fine, here's the punchline:If you feel the need to capitalize stuff in /etc, YOU HAVE LOST THE PLOT.
#Windowzification #Macification

2025-08-04 21:35:22 UTC

Ok, this looks groooovy:
https://terminaltrove.com/new/
#TUI

2025-08-04 02:08:57 UTC

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@nprofile…pqrf
AI lies. Constantly. I mean, so do politicians, but they're made out of goopy carbonic matter, so they have something of an excuse.
The fact that techbros made computers lie fills me with rage. You slimy jackwagons destroyed the one thing in this world that is pure, logical, and beautiful.
It's like someone took Mr. Spock and force-fed him so much weed that he turned into Pauly Shore.
THE HORROR!!!!!

2025-08-01 14:05:39 UTC

Dadgum, why did https://MacintoshGarden.org have to go down today? I needed to research for a #blost. :P :BlobCatDerpy:

2025-08-01 11:42:51 UTC

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@nprofile…25dv @nprofile…968f
Been meaning to ask you, Kev,
Do any of your Casio calculator watches have a game? I remember the calculator watch I had in the 1980s had some kind of a game that I could never figure out. I've been wanting to get one again. 😅

2025-07-31 22:35:40 UTC

New #blog post: Why Do We Blog?
https://rldane.space/why-do-we-blog.html
296 words
Pretty short and sweet, but I enjoyed writing it. :)
cc: my wonderful #chorus: @nprofile…twp5 @nprofile…zppp @nprofile…kgaw @nprofile…uej9 @nprofile…y4z0 @nprofile…s82r @nprofile…4d9x @nprofile…68n3 @nprofile…5ryt @nprofile…7qn8 @nprofile…rtnf @nprofile…sh5g @nprofile…7nq4
(I will happily add/remove you from the chorus upon request! :)
#100DaysToOffload #48
#rlDaneWriting #blost #writing #blogging

2025-07-31 18:16:06 UTC

Drat, I left my #stevia at home.
I do not like #tea with honey, I'm realizing. So cloying.

2025-07-31 17:38:43 UTC

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@nprofile…8xxg
I wonder why it can't support skins on Wayland.

2025-07-31 16:33:47 UTC

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@nprofile…pp8p @nprofile…7s4z
Having a nice RSS reader on your phone is a wonderful alternative to doom scrolling when bored.

2025-07-31 14:55:10 UTC

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@nprofile…sr9k
Back in 2019, I had the genius idea to buy a pre-paid 1 or 2-year mobile plan with "unlimited" hotspot at 2G speeds (i.e., capped to 128kbps) for my apartment.
I though it would be totally fine, as I remembered cruising the then-modern web with just DOS and a 1200 baud modem in 1995. I wasn't spoiled, and didn't need modern broadband speeds, I told myself.
Nope. Everything just gracelessly failed, even just basic downloads with wget.
$120 down the drain. XD
@nprofile…t4qe

2025-07-28 22:52:44 UTC

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@nprofile…dxz7
Yeah, I'm undergoing a bit of a "Jake Skywalker" transformation — it's the name that Mark Hammil gave to his Luke Skywalker character in The Last Jedi, because he absolutely couldn't relate to that character, and thought that Rian Johnson basically just pooped all over the character and the canon (and he kinda did).
But the feeling of being completely burnt out, unable to see anything good in the institutions you once held dear, and desiring to burn down what you once helped build, and feeling cut off from the one thing you used to love so much... man I feel that so keenly.
Now when I visit churches, my feeling ranges from, "these are really good people, but I'm not really feeling it," to "What in hades does this flipping circus have to do with the person of Christ and His work?" to "This is surely the seat of satan. I want nothing to do with this abomination of coercion and influence-pandering."
Man... being technically crochety is one thing... getting spiritually crochety is just awful. XD

2025-07-28 22:27:37 UTC

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@nprofile…dxz7
Yeah. Total facepalm moment.

2025-07-28 22:00:15 UTC

Guys, this is why I low-key can't stand #apologists, and Cliffe Knechtle is one I actually have/had a bit of respect for.
https://redlib.perennialte.ch/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1mb8dtm/he_didnt_even_have_a_comeback_for_that/
That kid deserves a standing freaking ovation. If I was there, I'd buy him lunch. He points out everything that is absolutely true and horrible about institutionalised #Christianity, and Cliffe's retort is typical microwaved hot nonsense from #apologetics.
I hate it so much. I'm hoping that he actually got over himself long enough to actually connect with the kid (because there's only so much you can get from a sound bite), but I'm kind of doubting it.