notes


My brain-dump into the void

What I have learnt throughout my time is that the more focus I apply to something, the more of it I attain. Laser-focus is the key; be about it, breathe it, live it, dream it. With my mind on my money and my money on my mind.

https://cybrkyd.com/post/adjusting-the-focus

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 20:45:55 +0000

In September 2024, I set out to see how I could increase my capital — on my own and by how much — instead of just leaving it sitting in an interest-bearing account (lazy investing). This is how I got there.

https://cybrkyd.com/post/2024-in-review-23.96-percent

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 08:05:39 +0000

Paying myself first - It is quite a difficult thing to actually do in practice...for me at least. The reason that this is so difficult, I’m guessing, is down to a one simple reason: the lack of financial discipline.

https://cybrkyd.com/post/paying-myself-first

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 20:19:31 +0100

The budget and the spreadsheet - I know my income and I know my general expenses but where is each penny going?

https://cybrkyd.com/post/the-budget-and-the-spreadsheet/

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 17:24:49 +0100

Enough about Linux and tech! I’m doing money now.

https://cybrkyd.com/post/chapter-two-money/

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 17:14:31 +0100

There is no question: Israel is punishing the civilians of Gaza.

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 19:16:05 +0100

TGIF

tgif-images-funny-1.jpg

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 18:44:33 +0100

A bad move; a very bad move indeed.

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 16:53:30 +0100

SLA: 99.99% uptime

Microsoft: You are all now well and truly into the 0.01%

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:58:54 +0100

Lovely, Microsoft Windows crashes the world. Have they tried rebooting?

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:40:47 +0100

That bullet might just have won Trump the election.

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 06:43:32 +0100

@EOS_Nation All good on the EOS side? proxy4nation daily pay-outs have been a bit hit-and-miss since 10 July.

Sat, 13 Jul 2024 22:05:40 +0100

Better by England, much better compared to every other game so far in this tournament. Can they score though? #ENGSUI

Sat, 06 Jul 2024 18:18:56 +0100

British journalists should really stop shouting questions across the street at the new cabinet. I mean, has anyone ever had one of those questions answered? Ever? It's a silly habit that is really annoying and every single one of you does it!

Sat, 06 Jul 2024 10:41:34 +0100

If Farage becomes UK PM...

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 18:35:09 +0100

Some of us citizens will never allow nor tolerate Stasi-style dragnet mass surveillance in the name of CSAM. EU needs to go back to the drawing board and re-think how to better detect and police and better still, how to protect and prevent. #ChatControl

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 09:31:22 +0100

Poof! And there goes Kaspersky.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceqq7663wd2o

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 08:13:03 +0100

Never waver. Never back down. #Privacy
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/18/encryption-is-deeply-threatening-to-power-meredith-whittaker-of-messaging-app-signal

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 16:57:10 +0100

We need another goal, it's getting boring now. #euro2024 #ITAALB

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 21:26:57 +0100

I'm nervous for Italy, the Albanians know how to play Italy's style - most of them are in Serie A. Madonna Mia! #euro2024 #ITAALB

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 19:58:30 +0100

My boys. Let's see what Italy can do. Coming Rome? #euro2024 #ITAALB

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 19:24:09 +0100

Comfortable for Spain. Nice. #euro2024 #ESPCRO

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 18:58:18 +0100

Cruel rules. What a pity. #euro2024 #ESPCRO

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 18:44:47 +0100

The best match of group stages so far for me. Both teams are so good. Would really like to see Croatia come back a bit, they deserve a goal. #euro2024 #ESPCRO

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 18:26:44 +0100

And there we have it! Don't write off Spain just yet. That was a magic 1st half and Croatia is no walkover. #euro2024 #ESPCRO

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 18:14:25 +0100

I don't know. Everyone seems to think Spain is not favourite for the tournament. Hmm, let's see how they do. #euro2024 #ESPCRO

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 16:59:19 +0100

Well done, Switzerland. #HUNSUI #euro2024

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 15:56:17 +0100

I quite enjoyed that first-half. Go Switzerland! #HUNSUI #euro2024

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 14:54:06 +0100

Finally, a sensible move by Microsoft.

Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns
https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/microsoft-delay-release-recall-ai-feature-security-concerns-2024-06-14/

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 17:21:35 +0100

Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behaviour - statement after firing staff for using mouse jigglers.

Wells Fargo, mate, you're a bank. What the F do you know about ethics?? Educate us, please!

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 16:29:50 +0100

Every year, we claim, nay, we hope for the year of Linux. Not even this year, not even after Windows does Recall and Apple does OpenAI. When will consumers realise that they are the ones being rebranded and re-bundled with each upgrade? We are the product, exploited.

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 10:06:04 +0100

Four hostages freed shouted louder in western media than the fact that 210 innocent Palestinians were killed. Not Hamas...Palestinians. Of course, both events performed by the most moral army in the world.

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 07:26:52 +0100

@signal should consider increasing the file upload limit from 100MB to say, 2GB. I would love to be able to press "upload" on that large file and not have to worry about breaching a low limit.

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 15:59:26 +0100

DuckDuckGo AI Chat gives anonymous and private access to GPT-3.5, Claude 3, Llama 3 and Mixtral
https://betanews.com/2024/06/07/duckduckgo-ai-chat-gives-anonymous-and-private-access-to-gpt-3-5-claude-3-llama-3-and-mixtral/

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 08:04:22 +0100

It might be a good time for us all to seriously consider replacing #Photoshop with alternatives. I doubt, however, that many — including myself — ever will. Sadly, the competition is nowhere close.

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 10:18:35 +0100

If there was ever any doubt about the reach of Adobe, it has now been made as crisp and clear as their sharpening tool in Photoshop.

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 09:44:53 +0100

Some of Adobe's vast user base has not warmed to these changes and a clarification update was hastily issued on 06-June-2024 - https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/06/06/clarification-adobe-terms-of-use

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 09:40:51 +0100

This is EXACTLY why some of us use pirate software.
https://www.computing.co.uk/news/4268783/adobe-users-revolt-updated-terms
#Adobe #Photoshop.

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 11:33:52 +0100

I would like to see you actually enforce this one @adobe - go ahead, give my #Photoshop installation a try. And have a shot at trying to use/distribute/sell any of my creations.

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 11:16:19 +0100

Wouldn't it be cool if AI's data centres could fit right into crypto mining somehow? Mining machines have the raw processing power. What if? Instead of crunching numbers for rewards, power AI and earn. I see a startup in there somewhere.

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 19:03:07 +0100

UK public bodies have spent more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion) on lab services provided by Synnovis since 2016, according to data company Tussell. And still, they can't get their OP-SEC straight. People will die.

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 18:56:03 +0100

Yup!

Activist Investors Have a Simple Message for London Firms: List Elsewhere - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-05/activists-tell-london-firms-list-your-shares-on-new-york-stock-market

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 18:34:58 +0100

This looks cool | Never Let Go (2024)

https://youtu.be/ZDfRp_ukHDU?si=QyDG_WUXlEpwS7cy

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 18:08:09 +0100

Just as a ban on advertising cigarettes did very little to stop the world smoking, a ban on fossil fuel advertising is not going to change anything. C'mon, António Guterres!

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 17:14:12 +0100

Ah, maybe we pause Bluesky for now. A whole lot of tumbleweed. X marks the spot.

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 09:13:46 +0100

I've got a nice three-way cross-post going on: X...Bluesky...my static Hugo blog --> https://cybrkyd.com/notes/

That way, all my posts stay with me.

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 21:24:01 +0100

And...it's live! I'm cross-posting to X and Bluesky with Python.

Bluesky's API is a bugger. 😤️

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 21:00:13 +0100

General Election live TV debate? Time to switch off and snooze, me thinks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-69088663

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 20:46:02 +0100

Quote

orwell.jpg

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 16:37:03 +0100

At least four NHS hospitals in London have been hit by a cyber attack, leading them to cancel operations and other procedures on Tuesday. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c288n8rkpvno

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 15:33:56 +0100

Speech to text - comparing Google Docs and Whisper AI

At the end, this felt surreal. I felt as though I was in George Orwell’s 1984, using the speakwrite.

https://cybrkyd.com/post/speech-to-text-comparing-google-docs-and-whisper-ai/

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 10:51:27 +0100

Many US banks, such as Goldman Sachs, also expect senior staff to come in for the full week, and its chief executive, David Solomon, labelled remote working an “aberration”.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/04/employment-tribunal-cases-remote-working-from-home-office

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 10:06:06 +0100

Oh, for goodness sake! Does ANY politician in the West have any other line which does not include the word "immigration"?

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 09:53:45 +0100

Today I'm testing Google Docs and it's ability to type out an entire document using just my voice. Not bad but I guess my mellow accent is not gelling...it gets a lot wrong. Also, saying "full stop" and "new paragraph" is hit-and-miss.

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 18:30:19 +0100

Media and dot com Companies with OpenAI Licensing Agreements

A list of organisations which have licensed their content to OpenAI. https://cybrkyd.com/post/media-and-dot-com-companies-with-openai-licensing-agreements/

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 21:20:43 +0100

Go on, jump right in. Install Linux, be free. Free as in FREE. It's not that difficult, honest. In the same way that most average Windows users never learn how to use the advanced admin-type features, #Linux is the same. You don't need to.

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 16:15:24 +0100

Here we go: the first (and probably the last) of the TikTok election campaigns. Same hot air, different soapbox.

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 12:20:04 +0100

#UCLfinal Real Madrid!!!

I was on the edge of my seat all the way through this game.

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 21:58:05 +0100

The tension is unbearable #UCLfinal

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 21:33:57 +0100

I'm working on a lovely Python tweet bot. And a tweet buffer bot. And a RSS-to-tweet bot. All at the same time. Details posting soon.

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 18:47:27 +0100

Good tips on here | 5 Tips to Secure Your GPG Key in Linux
https://www.maketecheasier.com/secure-gpg-key-in-linux/

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 18:10:43 +0100

The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling.

—Lucretius

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 10:52:11 +0100

All Santander staff and 30 million customers in Spain, Chile and Uruguay hacked.

The Ticketmaster Hackers are attempting to sell confidential information belonging to millions of Santander staff and customers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6ppv06e3n8o

Fri, 31 May 2024 17:22:18 +0100

Nvidia set to overtake Apple as world's second-most valuable company.

The reliance of virtually all artificial intelligence applications on Nvidia's chips has helped the stock nearly triple in value over the past year to $2.72 trillion. https://www.reuters.com/technology/nvidia-set-overtake-apple-worlds-second-most-valuable-company-2024-05-31/

Fri, 31 May 2024 17:16:49 +0100

Now, Trump finally understands the meaning of "covfefe".

Fri, 31 May 2024 11:28:47 +0100

Excellent opinion article by @AminaShareef1

Dismantle the knowledge systems that enable genocide
It is not just drones that kill. Academic disciplines do, too.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/5/30/dismantle-the-knowledge-systems-that-enable-genocide

Fri, 31 May 2024 08:56:54 +0100

Yes, to be pro-Palestinian in the UK can cost you your job. Ask Faiza Shaheen. What a pity that this comes from Keir Starmer's Labour.

Fri, 31 May 2024 08:08:33 +0100

Surely they won't throw Trump into jail? I can't see how, not when he is due to be nominated.

Fri, 31 May 2024 06:13:43 +0100

"The revolution will put you in the driver's seat"

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
— Gil Scott-Heron

Thu, 30 May 2024 21:46:54 +0100

For we are sheep.

"He loved Big Brother."
― George Orwell, 1984

Thu, 30 May 2024 20:46:50 +0100

My Lego phone holder

I had forgotten about this little life-saver, made during lockdown number one in March 2020. Lego is so cool when you don't step on them. https://cybrkyd.com/post/lego-phone-holder/

Thu, 30 May 2024 18:57:24 +0100

Keep using Signal. Keep using PGP encryption on your email communication.

I have nothing to hide but I still want to hide it from you. #Privacy

Thu, 30 May 2024 17:36:30 +0100

I'm sure we won't be seeing nearly as much of a fuss over this as we saw in 2022 for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which banned alcohol for the same reason. Probably isn't an easy way to place an anti-Muslim spin on this one, is there? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/articles/clwwgl4n8w0o

Thu, 30 May 2024 16:48:19 +0100

Right! I'm all synced up between Twitter and my blog. Anything posted to Twitter will automatically sync to my blog in real-time. Why? It's my data. These tweets are mine and I want to keep them and have access to them anytime I want. #Python

https://cybrkyd.com/notes/

Thu, 30 May 2024 16:25:34 +0100

Mac OS: Sorry, this app is from 2019 so I cant run it, its too old.

Still Mac OS: Sorry, this app is from 2024. Your Mac is from 2014, so it won't work. Have you considered our upgrade program? A bargain at only 4,999.99. Upgrade today!

Linux: Whatever, dude.

Thu, 30 May 2024 14:33:56 +0100

I might just scream if I keep hearing everyone say "Thank you so much!"

Thu, 30 May 2024 11:22:52 +0100

Big election year 2024. Let's skip trying to read the future by going on the polls, especially after 2016 got it oh so wrong about both #Brexit and #Trump. We might as well ask #AI to hallucinate a prediction.

Thu, 30 May 2024 08:37:06 +0100

Microsoft Recall is a #privacy nightmare. But most people don't care about their privacy in the first place. And #Microsoft knows this. Plus, they will make billions more from selling this feature to you.

Thu, 30 May 2024 07:40:19 +0100

A geometrical apple, just for fun.

apple2.jpg

Wed, 29 May 2024 20:39:57 +0100

The user asked if a Steam account could be transferred via a will. The Steam support staff replied that Steam accounts are plain and simply "non-transferable". https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2024/05/no-leaving-a-steam-account-in-a-will-after-you-die-according-to-valve/

Wed, 29 May 2024 20:36 +0100

It's my second rodeo and everyone is acting like I should be some kind of expert.

second-rodeo.webp

Wed, 29 May 2024 19:33 +0100

The free back-and-forth flow of my own information has begun.

Wed, 29 May 2024 18:37 +0100

To get the goosebumps going - Delibes: Lakmé - Duo des fleurs (Flower Duet), Sabine Devieilhe & Marianne Crebassa

https://youtu.be/C1ZL5AxmK_A?si=JJXSC3T3npNaqYFm

Wed, 29 May 2024 10:45 +0100

Linux all the way! I like using an OS which serves no ads.

Oh, hi Windows! Didn't see you there!

Wed, 29 May 2024 10:04 +0100

What will become of this? A post to X which simultaneously updates my Notes on my website.

Wed, 29 May 2024 09:27 +0100

When the likes of ChatGPT start to talk to you (as opposed to outputting reams of text on the screen), that will scare some people silly. That, to me, is the corner turned. What is it exactly that they are working on now?

REUTERS: OpenAI sets up safety committee as it starts training new model

Tue, 28 May 2024 16:09 +0100

Rafah

This is genocide

Mon, 27 May 2024 15:48 +0100

You're not very sharp, are you?

Mon, 27 May 2024 11:03 +0100

Happy Bank Holiday Monday! Get the barbecues going before the usual happens!! 🤣

Bank holiday Monday weather forecast

Mon, 27 May 2024 08:53 +0100

Nice to see so many people against Brexit and the wonders it has delivered. I often ask where everyone was on voting day in 2016. All Brexit has achieved is taking the migrants off the planes and placing them into boats. Wexit next? Exiting the world?

Sat, 25 May 2024 11:07:36 +0000

Things Can Only Get Better = except they never do.

Fri, 24 May 2024 07:52:10 +0000

The question is why? Why would one need to have a snapshot of ALL activity performed on one's computer? OK, so Microsoft says this will be encrypted and only saved locally but that's hardly going to protect the abused woman's privacy or the whistleblower with a gun to his head.

Wed, 22 May 2024 10:40:34 +0000

Why does no one clear cookies at the end of their browsing session? Yes, there are those that you may wish to keep (logged-on websites, etc) but surely the others can go?

Sun, 12 May 2024 09:35 +0100

So, now you tell me! I've been making this mistake my whole life.

Miniscule is actually spelt minuscule.

miniscule is actually spelt minuscule

Mon, 06 May 2024 11:22 +0100

Happy Bank Holiday Monday, UK!

Rain

Mon, 06 May 2024 09:29 +0100

Sometimes, you just need to...

CAPTION: I'm sorry to trouble you yet again with Internet issues.

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 21:49 +0100

Been spending some time with Hugo and translating the rudimentary first draft of my Notes section into something a little bit more robust.

I've managed to get the notes to fully federate (on a cron with RSS) so I can microblog to my hearts content without ever setting foot inside Hubzilla.

Not bad for a static site.

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 19:52 +0100

I had forgotten how much 'fun' CSS can be! I've just completed a minor update on my blog and this was...fun. One little mis-type can lead to a cascade of issues! Pun intended.

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 21:19 +0100

I'm learning a lot today!

After posting Not a big fan of WordPress, I discovered ClassicPress (via @jrmat), Textpattern (via @jrp) and, of course, Hubzilla via @emanuel.

Thank you - it is good to see all these alternative CMS.

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 13:03 +0100

Where is your private key located? If it is not in your possession - and only your possession - then you are not communicating privately. Well, you may be, sort of, until the actual holder of the private key unlocks your messages.

Do we really believe the slick marketing line that 'all messages are private and not even this organisation can decrypt them' ? How do they (can they) store files on their systems that they do not have any access to? Double/triple encrypted? With which additional keys?

I don't buy the hype. Isn't encryption meant to be a zero-trust game?

I have many questions.

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 19:30:02 +0100

I'm trying to figure out how to re-import my old posts and maintain the original post date.

Currently, it appears that a direct database insert is needed for this job. Hmm, I might just 'archive' them on my blog's 'Notes' page and be done with it. 😐️

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 19:40:58 +0000

O Hugo, Hugo, wherefore art thou Hugo?

What have you done?

Fighting all day yesterday and I simply could not update the header of the site I was working on. Then today - after doing absolutely nothing - I opened it to fight some more, it was working fine! My changes were just there! :-)

Glitch?

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 16:45:52 +0000

My self-hosted email started acting up today, reporting that "Maximum number of connections from user+IP exceeded".

Noting to add the following to /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf

mail_max_userip_connections = 100

(I believe the default is 10 which is way too low for IMAP).

Good to know.

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 21:26:02 +0000

Finally! Thunderbird working on returning optional inline PGP back into the app. I really miss this when using Thunderbird.

As I noted in my comment:

The main advantage is to provide an alternative to default of key attachment. For example, many organisations have implemented policies of not accepting incoming emails containing attachments. This makes PGP signature attachment-by-default useless for this particular use-case scenario. Having the PGP signature in the body of the email will pass such filtering.

Back in WIP: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1602481

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 21:20:55 +0000

It will be an interesting time up ahead after Reddit's IPO today and the direction they take with regards to enabling ActivityPub on their platform.

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 19:33:09 +0000

I do not miss those back-to-back face-to-face meetings!

CAPTION: Now, let's get out there and walk really fast to places we don't want to be.

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 21:41:53 +0000

We really need to clarify what 'AI' means, right now, at this time we are. It is by no means 'artificial intelligence' because it is not sentient. Therefore by the very definition of 'AI' in its truest sense, it is not. Maybe that will happen one day, but right now, to me, it is 'Assistive Intelligence'.

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 19:09:53 +0000

I'm sorry, that DOES NOT look like #KateMiddleton next to William.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/royals/26776116/windsor-farm-shop-princess-kate-william/

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 16:24:59 +0000

Oh, wow. 46,000+ users across Firefox and Thunderbird for the British-English Dictionary. Nice! 😊️

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 07:51:11 +0000

Lovely to receive some positive feedback for hard work done for free.

What a breath of fresh air to actually have English (Traditional) instead of the usual English (Simplified). Fantastic all around!"

https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-GB/thunderbird/addon/british-english-dictionary-gb/reviews/1173637/

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 07:21:38 +0000

Hello World!

A note sent via e-mail to my static Hugo site and federated via some Python magic.

Notes: https://cybrkyd.com/notes

We are live.

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 21:49:51 +0000

My 'cool' word of the day: tintinnabulation

tɪntɪnæbjuˈleɪʃn
a ringing sound

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 18:18:02 +0000

Oh dear! UK's #NHS in real dire straits. Text just received because of the unmanageable demand to see a doctor. I'll say it, seeing as everyone else in this whole country is afraid to: THE UK NEEDS TO HAVE PRIVATE GPs. We need an alternative to this unsustainable bloody mess.

Dear,

Our local pharmacies have taken on treatment of the following conditions and should be your first point of contact if you have that problem;
Sinusitis, Sore throat or earache (children 1-18y), infected insect bites, impetigo, Shingles and urine infection (in women age 16 to 65y)
They are able to prescribe antibiotics when needed with a normal prescription charge

https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/01/pharmacy-first-what-you-need-to-know

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 20:54:50 +0000

My good deed of the week was on ah-hem.. #Bluesky !!

I spotted a post where someone was asking for help in comparing two huge PDF files, almost 1GB each. ImageMagick failed miserably but I managed to get it done on my crappy i3 processor by pdftotext in 2 minutes flat.

Dammit, I must say it...the power of #Linux and more importantly, the good feeling of helping someone in need.

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 16:56:32 +0000

Interesting day! I gave myself a challenge - make a bot for #Hubzilla that can post new items from a #RSS feed. I know, Hubzilla already has cool functionality like (a) follow a RSS feed and (b) 'mirror' that feed as posts. But I wanted a bit more control and less strain on the Hub.

I started off with some #Python magic which included using cURL to make the POST. A few posts in, I ran into the forgotten special characters - ', ", $, & etc that cURL needs to be escaped. Right...let's escape these and test again! Nope! Could not budge, could not win. I ended up with weird-looking posts with some crazy formatting issues.

Later, I learned about the 'requests' module - we'd never met. Turns out this thing can do all the parsing and take care of special characters.

So, there we are. The bot is live - https://so.pfm.cx/channel/aljazeera_rss and running along nicely.

Follow it...it auto-follows back so boost your follower count 😉️

Sun, 28 Jan 2024 20:31:11 +0000

A photon is checking into a hotel.

The porter asks if he has any luggage to bring up to his room.

"No," says the photon. "I'm travelling light."

Sat, 27 Jan 2024 21:41:34 +0000

Necessity is the mother of invention. I had forgotten about this life-saver, made during lockdown number 1. I was working from home and had my first day of back-to-back calls. Normally, video conferences would be joined from the iPad but I had a call on some obscure software that refused to work on crapple devices. I needed to use my phone so I desperately needed a holder.

Enter #Lego blocks. I raided the kids' toy box and cobbled this bad boy together from 6 pieces. It is only good for wide-screen viewing as the phone is too heavy in portrait mode. The phone sits in there perfectly at just the right angle for the camera. Lego is so cool...except when you step on the bloody things!

A phone cradle made from 6 Lego pieces

Sat, 27 Jan 2024 17:48:34 +0000

It's been roughly a couple of years since I really used #Hubzilla so I am a bit rusty with all the various settings and config changes that I can make. But I think I'm there finally. She is purring along nicely and I can once again do fun stuff again like make this text bold to really annoy the fuck out of Mastodon users! :-P

Plus no text character limits to reconfigure every time there is an upgrade.

Sat, 27 Jan 2024 14:48:10 +0000

And that's it, folks! All I could salvage from #Mastodon before I shut it down for good. I even managed to grab my last post that somehow made it through...

============

Goodbye #Mastodon ! You're broken and the only way to repair you is to start again with a fresh install.

Nice software but very very complicated to run.

Follower, I'm shutting this down shortly and will be back on another piece of software that I can actually maintain.

See you on the other side.

============

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:37:58 +0000

Where has the time gone? It's been almost one year since I posted on my blog...I know! Life, work and more life and work! No time to write down anything. The same old excuses!

To be fair, I was heavily involved in one of the biggest projects ever to be undertaken by the company I work for. Now that it's out of the way, I can go back to concentrating a little more on me.

There it is! First post of 2024.

--cybrkyd--

OMG! It's 2024!

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:36:24 +0000

#Firefox and their new .deb is cool.

But, you CAN install Firefox directly from #Mozilla by just grabbing the .tar.bz2 release and extracting it. It will auto-update if it is in a writable location. No messing around with repos and keys!

Manually installing Firefox in Linux

My personal preference is to run a non-repository Firefox on my system. I'll explain why and demonstrate how this is easily achieved in minutes.

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:34:58 +0000

If you care about your #privacy, switch to #Firefox

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:33:22 +0000

I'm loving 12ft - https://12ft.io. Kills some paywalls as well. Not all but quite a few.

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:11:20 +0000

De-federating #Threads and anyone else for that matter serves very little purpose. ActivityPub is an open source protocol and a very, very chatty one at that!

De-federation can be compared to an ostrich with it's head in the sand; the ostrich (the de-federating server) sees no one and nothing and is therefore quite content, believing perhaps incorrectly that no one can see it as well.

If de-federation of Threads is being done to protect one's server and users somehow from #Meta, then this idea is misinformed. If the basis is to have nothing to do with Threads, then this is fine and one's prerogative, but is still very much a one-way street; the ostrich.

Take this example: de-federate Server B from Server A. Users on both sides cannot interact with each other BUT they can still 'see' each other by, e.g. RSS, via the API and so forth. So, a user on Server B, can still 'follow' someone on Server A via RSS if they so wish; the only thing that is limited is the interaction. Users on Server A, meanwhile, cannot easily 'follow' someone on Server B via RSS but it is quite possible via a proxy. Very easy in fact.

So, the question is: what is the reason exactly for de-federating Threads? Data protection? Not possible. Hate of everything Meta? More reasonable and understandable but technically difficult to work around. Server-hopping does not offer any tangible advantage over simply not interacting with anyone on Threads if one so chooses.

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:41:48 +0000

Meet the first Spanish #AI model earning up to €10,000 per month.

aitana

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:38:19 +0000

Live dangerously...do everything as #root

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:36:56 +0000

Linux Mint - my lockdown production desktop. Stable, stable, stable all the way through and no issues with remote connection into the office to use Windows 10. Reboot it like, once a year, updates take...2 min on a bad day! #Linux rocks.

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:36:21 +0000

Reading an article which prompted me to search for "scolded on mastodon"...353,000 hits! Wow, really? Shame.

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:29:29 +0000

Can't wait for a proper #Bluesky to #Fedi bridge. We are good with #Nostr to Fedi...hurry up devs.

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:27:18 +0000

I'm finally back on after a fun day of trying to migrate. I could not secure and re-use s.pfm.cx for some weird DNS/Network/Apache/Nginx issue so I gave up like I did with #Mastodon and used so.pfm.cx! I like #Hubzilla so I'm back on here.

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:01:02 +0000

I use #Linux as my main desktop OS and on my laptop. The reason I use Linux is because it offers me freedom, #privacy and #transparency over and above what any other operating system does. And, of course, the best part is that it is 100% free!

https://t.co/8fPU8FKmcA

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 14:29:31 +0000