Nostr notes by Seth Brown

Well, you know, Slackware "comes" with its own church, ...

2026-06-09T13:01:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…ynu7
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Well, you know, Slackware "comes" with its own church, right? 😏

And in Slackware, it's "slackpkg update && slackpkg upgrade-all", not that heretical command you mentioned 😎

Sigh. Not an American, so I'm not exposed to constant ...

2026-06-07T12:54:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…dx73
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Sigh.

Not an American, so I'm not exposed to constant American media.

Putin is not desperate. Far from it. He is the most relaxed person on the planet. Completely in control of the situation.

The amazing thing to me is that people in the bubble of Western media, have no idea what is really going on. The brainwashing goes deep.

If you are on a diet of only Western media, you are going to "know" only what they say.

Perhaps look for a different source of news ... ?

Thank you for that link! That was very interesting. Since I ...

2026-06-01T12:06:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…hmpu
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Thank you for that link!
That was very interesting. Since I started out with UNIX in the early 1980s, it brought back a lot of memories.

Nostr event nevent1qqsttg3qynaqgce0a5jxg3xjnlhrrmpvpc8msyw4yejqgaftrqry38qzyqhvswrlhtlc78zlkttd38wqnl6lg2ghduzuz3apg9zc2qwyuxf0ztg4fq4

2026-05-30T19:25:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…xknr
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https://www.youtube.com/@TaichiWorkout/search?query=back%20pain

this guy fixed sleep for me

Nostr event nevent1qqs266txgn97e2mwq92fkjrsqm4l68wgv3zuhz9vu9ndm3ptktzy6rgzyqhvswrlhtlc78zlkttd38wqnl6lg2ghduzuz3apg9zc2qwyuxf0z3adqje

2026-05-29T13:44:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…sfg4
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMM386

https://hermit.cc/it/dos/config.htm

This may, or may not, help.

I vaguely remember having to load EMM386 and HIMEM.SYS back in the DOS/early Windows days to be able to access all my RAM.

Forgotten most of it now, of course.

There was also a device driver from DesqView which also helped.

IMO, DesqView had the best memory management tools available at the time.They even provided a certain level of multitasking.

Thank you, Eric!

2026-05-01T13:22:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…yygn
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Thank you, Eric!

One thing for sure, we KNOW ghosts are hallucinations, right? ...

2026-05-01T13:21:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…xcmt
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One thing for sure, we KNOW ghosts are hallucinations, right? Right?

The exploit does not work on my Slackware 15.0 systems with a ...

2026-04-30T12:40:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…44sp
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The exploit does not work on my Slackware 15.0 systems with a 5.15.93 kernel.

Nostr event nevent1qqsqtx794adk4gj322un3sntgn2m3n92u89meqznwvklwnwud9k68hqzyqhvswrlhtlc78zlkttd38wqnl6lg2ghduzuz3apg9zc2qwyuxf0zf888j4

2026-04-25T01:19:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…ha2f
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https://orinocotribune.com/they-backed-trump-then-they-regretted-it-they-still-havent-learned-the-real-lesson/

I like "embarrassment of Richards".

2026-04-22T12:46:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…6jqz
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I like "embarrassment of Richards".

I needed that. This morning, I needed that. That is EXACTLY the ...

2026-04-21T11:08:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…mpc8
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I needed that. This morning, I needed that. That is EXACTLY the right attitude. 100%

Thank you for reminding me!

Truer words were never spoken!

2026-04-10T23:12:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…007z
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Truer words were never spoken!

Bro, everybody is in EXACTLY the same boat as you. You're ...

2026-04-10T23:11:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…ts2k
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Bro, everybody is in EXACTLY the same boat as you. You're just more honest.

I lived on 8 cups of coffee a day before I got sick and retired. Just saying ...

In China, duh

2026-04-04T13:16:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…6fhy
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In China, duh

Thanks for posting that. Love me my Slackware, hate to think ...

2026-03-24T21:49:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…uudd
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Thanks for posting that.

Love me my Slackware, hate to think I'd have to move on from it because of this senseless law.

It sounds like massively over-compensating CYA in the face of the Epstein files, though those victims deserve both reparations and justice. This bill addresses neither.

No, I haven't but it's ok because my daughter made SURE ...

2026-03-18T10:06:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…zevr
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No, I haven't but it's ok because my daughter made SURE that I had a ride on a camel. _That's_ an experience!

Oh, I think they are making their voice heard, quite loudly in ...

2026-03-18T10:03:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…vf5g
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Oh, I think they are making their voice heard, quite loudly in fact.

If _you_ cannot hear it, perhaps you need to shut up and actually listen.

Este error occure bajo la versión Creativo con GNOME. Pero no ...

2026-03-13T14:13:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…p0ln
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Este error occure bajo la versión Creativo con GNOME.

Pero no occure bajo la versión XFCE con Thunar.

También bajo Creativo, Nautilus no puede crear un "thumbnail" para archivos de tipo formateado RAW. Tuve que installar una solución desde aquí :

https://github.com/emuskardin/nautilus-raw-thumbnails

Saben uds que Nautilus no abre una particion de Windows sin dar ...

2026-03-13T14:05:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…3zjd
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Saben uds que Nautilus no abre una particion de Windows sin dar un error?

El URL corecto es https://www.youtube.com/@mincytvenezuela

2026-03-11T00:39:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…cj20
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El URL corecto es https://www.youtube.com/@mincytvenezuela

To me, those are Wyse50 terminals.

2026-03-07T14:00:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…tsn6
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To me, those are Wyse50 terminals.

Friend, in November 2014, my doctor ordered me to stop reading ...

2026-03-01T00:34:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…j4up
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Friend, in November 2014, my doctor ordered me to stop reading newspaper, stop watching the news.

That man saved my life.

You know that news is designed to increase anxiety, right?

And BTW, the BBC lies all the time. Wouldn't trust anything they say.

I prefer to get my news from Telesur and CTGN.

Otherwise, all you get is propaganda.

Meanwhile, Slackware sends me an email from their security list ...

2026-02-28T12:55:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…j9l4
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Meanwhile, Slackware sends me an email from their security list when something needs to be upgraded.

Otherwise, I don't really have to interact with their website.

Slackware is so stable I had one instance running at a client's site for 10 years. Yes, I know, not the best practice, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Every time, I see a post about Arch, I sigh. Why fiddle when you can have rock solid stability?

Please explain the attraction to an old man ... ?

Update from Bruce. Last night he was using the computer (running ...

2026-02-27T22:28:50Z

Update from Bruce.

Last night he was using the computer (running Canaima GNU/Linux 8.3).

He clicked to open a folder and was waiting for the folder to open coz, you know, when you are accustomed to using Windows 11, it prays to the patron saint of computers, St. Isidore of Seville, and performs various incantations, litanies, etc.

It took him a second to realise the folder was already open coz, you know, in Linux, things just work so much FASTER!

Perhaps start with a list of what you like about W2K and clarify ...

2026-02-27T12:31:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…0rwa
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Perhaps start with a list of what you like about W2K and clarify what you want out of an OS that way.

A list of requirements, and then you can try to find something close that matches ...

So, Bruce's PC now dual-boots to either Windows 11 or ...

2026-02-24T11:20:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…ud50
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So, Bruce's PC now dual-boots to either Windows 11 or #CanaimaGNULinux.

Bruce was saying "Take off the Windows!" But I have been bitten too many times to do that. There's ALWAYS some document you forget that you NEED that's on the Windows partition, so I have learned to leave it alone.

So that, folks is how you get rid of a snail infestation. You sprinkle a little Venezuela peace and love on it. ❤️

#CanaimaGNULinux Creative edition comes up with a Gnome desktop ...

2026-02-24T11:16:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…9yew
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#CanaimaGNULinux Creative edition comes up with a Gnome desktop and

Blender
GIMP
Ardour
LMMS
Mixx
Qjackctl
Guitarix
Meterbridge
Inkscape
Krita
Darktable
Digikam
Pikopixel
FreeCAD
Kdenlive
Shotcut
Openshot
OBS Studio
FFMpeg
StopMotion

Once the cheatcode was applied, the menus all came up in English.

There are some menu options and applications that still come up in Spanish. I assume those are written locally by the distro producers.

Getting Canaima Live to boot to English, US keyboard At the GRUB ...

2026-02-24T11:07:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…khjq
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Getting Canaima Live to boot to English, US keyboard

At the GRUB boot menu,

hit TAB to edit the boot command line
add "locales=en_US.UTF-8 keyboard-layouts=us" to the end of the line

You do NOT have to backspace over the previously existing text;just add that to the end of the line. Then, hit Enter to boot.

It will come up in English, with a US keyboard-layout.

#CanaimaGNULinux

But I said, "Wait! there's more!" So, I showed him ...

2026-02-24T10:59:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…dk4v
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But I said, "Wait! there's more!"

So, I showed him the applications that came with Linux Mint in the menus, LibreOffice and what not. All good.

But your boy, Bruce, is a musician. One of those guys who could just pick up an instrument and start to play. Born to music, in the most musical valley on the island.

I said, "Check this!"

I booted up Canaima Creative GNU/Linux 8.3!!

All the media/video/audio/studio apps!!

"This is what you want!"

Bruce finally turned up to see what happened to his PC, days ...

2026-02-24T10:55:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…28jf
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Bruce finally turned up to see what happened to his PC, days later.

So, I set about educating him about the difference between Windows 11 and Linux on his PC.

I booted it off a Ventory USB key from Linux Mint so he could see the difference in speed.

You know, that thing where Windows calls to Mars before it finds the files on your local SSD drive versus Linux Mint instantaneously just displaying your files on the same drive.

That difference? Right, Bruce said, "I want that one!"

So, it ended up on my desk. It turns out it was running something ...

2026-02-24T10:51:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…tjqh
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So, it ended up on my desk.

It turns out it was running something called "Microsoft Office Click-to-run update" which was thrashing the drive to 100% for some unknown reason.

I connected it via Ethernet to my fibre optic Huawei router and let it sit for a bit.

Eventually, it calmed down to the point where I could move the mouse and see the pointer respond.

Note to everyone: friends don't let friends update OS over slow wifi.

Installed Canaima GNU/Linux 8.3 on Bruce's Dell Optiplex 3080 ...

2026-02-24T10:47:41Z

Installed Canaima GNU/Linux 8.3 on Bruce's Dell Optiplex 3080 / i5 (12-core) / 8GB RAM / 500GB SSD / yesterday.

Bruce bought it off my wife's nephew & thought he was getting a great deal. Actually, it was but he got it with Windows 10 and somehow it decided to update to Windows 11 ... WTF?

Anyhow, this was over not the world's best wifi connection, and he said "it moving like a snail!"

I told him, "pour salt on it, it will stop moving".

Bruce didn't appreciate that advice.

I haven't done remote support for a while but perhaps you can ...

2026-02-19T13:01:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…qd60
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I haven't done remote support for a while but perhaps you can get the client to turn on Remote Desktop Support and them use Remina to connect to it ... ?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/solve-pc-problems-remotely-with-remote-assistance-cf384ff4-6269-d86e-bcfe-92d72ed55922

Well, you know, "divide & rule" comes down from the ...

2026-02-16T23:02:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…9v7x
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Well, you know, "divide & rule" comes down from the Romans. The Brits refined it in India, China, Africa. The CIA was largely born from the OSS, an offshoot of Chatham House in the UK.

There's an old book somewhere on the net, called "The Red Dragon" that traces the progress of the corrupting influence of the City of London (not to be confused with the actual, physical city of London), on the development of the USA.

https://archive.org/details/greatreddragonor00wool

Might be worth a read

Yeah, neurodivergence, that's a nice word for it. I've ...

2026-02-16T22:53:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…fu4n
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Yeah, neurodivergence, that's a nice word for it. I've been "different" all my life too :)

I've worked in the States, Latin America, the Caribbean. People are a lot easier to get along with in Latin America and the Caribbean, for sure.

They have more empathy for strangers somehow.

Also, the climate is nicer all year around :) Lots of beaches ...

Lots of foreigners come here and never leave. Try it, you might like it :)

I have 2 children, I know that song. What I am suggesting to you, ...

2026-02-16T18:30:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…2t7g
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I have 2 children, I know that song.

What I am suggesting to you, is that if the environment in which you are living, makes fatherhood too expensive to consider, change your environment.

I have a friend from Germany, married to a local lady. They have 3 children. He has his own business. His wife has her own business. They're happy.

Life is rough, tough and dead serious everywhere on this planet.

You choose your path.

You don't have to live where you are now.

I feel for you. I really do. Somehow I feel this is a First World ...

2026-02-16T18:21:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…3jc2
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I feel for you. I really do.

Somehow I feel this is a First World problem.

People in my part of the world don't have any problem having children even though objectively life is just as difficult here.

When I lived in Latin America, where there is a lot of poverty, people kept having babies.

Why do people in the north, think they can't afford children?

Nothing new. They did that to the native people of America, ...

2026-02-15T17:41:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…dvht
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Nothing new. They did that to the native people of America, killing the buffalo to deprive them of their food source.
They're doing it in Sudan. And they do it via the IMF by forcing countries to convert their agriculture from being able to feed themselves to providing cheap, raw materials instead.

Atta boy! Way to go! You can do this! Trust me. I didn't ...

2026-02-14T16:32:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…3a2v
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Atta boy! Way to go! You can do this!

Trust me. I didn't think I'd survive past 21 :)

Still here, decades later :)

There's an old saying. "The people who matter, won't ...

2026-02-14T16:30:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…2dmd
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There's an old saying. "The people who matter, won't mind. The people who mind, don't matter."

Nobody really gives offence, you know. People _take_ offence. Those kind of people really don't matter.

You can't possibly be more of a fuck-up than me :)

I laugh at it all.

The only person you have to impress in life, is yourself. The day you can look behind you, and say, "Hey I've progressed!", that's a good day.

It doesn't have to be a big thing. Baby steps, bro.

I sympathise. I really do. Have 2 sisters myself. Sad stories all ...

2026-02-14T16:21:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…wq9x
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I sympathise. I really do. Have 2 sisters myself. Sad stories all around.

Doesn't change anything.

Still gotta get up in the morning and try.

One day at a time, friend, one day at a time.

Don't fix her, fix yourself first.

Dude, sometimes life sucks. ...

2026-02-14T16:18:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…cry4
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Dude, sometimes life sucks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Fox

Sometimes the only way to make it better, is to try.

If you give up, it's nobody's fault but yourself.

That has nothing to do with hope. That is a choice that you ...

2026-02-14T16:14:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…253x
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That has nothing to do with hope.
That is a choice that you personally are making.

Don't project your despair onto the rest of the world.

The rest of us are trying to make the world better.
Life is hard for us too.

If you think you got the shitty end of the stick, try watching "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly".

That guy still had hope even though he was in a more fucked position than you or me.

I didn't say anything against your sister. I was talking to ...

2026-02-14T16:11:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…2a8f
_________________________

I didn't say anything against your sister. I was talking to you.

Good one! You're 100% correct! Free software is something to ...

2026-02-14T16:09:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…z5s3
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Good one!

You're 100% correct!

Free software is something to be loved.

Just like education, software is always political.

And nowhere is this more important than in Latin America and the Caribbean at this time.

Like Bad Bunny say, "We are the Americas!"

Viva software libre!

Hey, nobody promised you a rose garden. You have no right to ...

2026-02-14T16:06:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…mwgd
_________________________

Hey, nobody promised you a rose garden.

You have no right to demand goodness from anybody if you are not actively working to do good yourself.

Don't go looking for good people. Go looking to become a good person.

Law of karma, bro. Works the same throughout the known universe.

But have you seen the stock market?! $50,000! Wow! Jesus, are you ...

2026-02-14T15:48:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…eu43
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But have you seen the stock market?! $50,000! Wow!

Jesus, are you still beating this dead horse, Navalny?

Seriously.

Why would anybody in Russia care enough about this non-entity to bother to kill him? FFS!

He was the Juan Guaido of Russia, a poster boy for a Western puppet being primed for the propaganda effect. A nobody.

Practically nobody supported him in Russia.

Idiots in the West simply don't understand how Russians think. A total lack of understanding.

There is an end, a built-in fail safe; it's called death. And ...

2026-02-14T14:50:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…n34w
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There is an end, a built-in fail safe; it's called death.

And there are MORE good people than bad. It's just that we are more inclined to pay attention to bad news rather than good, part of the survival instinct.

It takes more effort to see the good, to cherish it, to nurture it.

That is the challenge in life: to do good rather than to submit to despair.

One day at a time, friend, one day at a time.

Do not distress yourself with imaginings. Focus on the light.

Not today, Despair. You forgot one. Not even Satan can defeat ...

2026-02-12T23:29:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…75dg
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Not today, Despair.

You forgot one. Not even Satan can defeat someone who keeps on hoping.

Friend, at 32 years old, I hadn't found that person either. ...

2026-02-12T23:28:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…20xr
_________________________

Friend, at 32 years old, I hadn't found that person either.

But I didn't give up hope.

At 35, I got married. 37 years later, 2 kids, we are still in love. Best years of my life.

I didn't have much going for me, was just a data entry/sometimes field tech guy. Only special skills were a motorcycle license and some Spanish.

Oh, and an amazing ability to eat humble pie, shrug it off and keep going.

Don't lose hope, that's all I'm saying.

Statistically, that can't possibly be true. Virtue is not ...

2026-02-11T13:32:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…5rv3
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Statistically, that can't possibly be true.

Virtue is not created by deleting people. That's a Nazi way of thinking. Just saying.

Don't let these ideas infiltrate your mind.

Dude, if you want to feel good about yourself, volunteer to help people, handicapped people, old people, children, etc.

There are plenty of people who need to be taken care of.

You will find that caring for people gives YOUR life meaning and will make you happy.

It's the big hidden secret of life.

+1 I really don't understand all the hype about rust and ...

2026-02-11T03:20:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…s59p
_________________________

+1

I really don't understand all the hype about rust and wayland. What exactly do these things solve?

I'm getting the same vibe I got back when people were touting OOP and Java as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

After all the shouting died down, both those technologies faded into the background and the world continued on just as before.

So if I understand it correctly, wayland needs a certain level of GPU to work, is that it? So a marketing ploy to sell GPUs ... ?

Isn't that what they ALL do?

2026-02-11T01:09:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…gzft
_________________________

Isn't that what they ALL do?

You know, from the point of view, of the REST OF THE WORLD, ie. ...

2026-02-07T15:27:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…hnyf
_________________________

You know, from the point of view, of the REST OF THE WORLD, ie. not the WESTERN point of view, Russia and China represent FREEDOM, oh by the way!

What do the West know about freedom? They are the ones who enslaved and colonised the world. And it's NOT in the past for the REST OF US, you SHITS!

Dude seriously, you don't know what you are missing out on. ...

2026-02-05T14:27:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…j69u
_________________________

Dude seriously, you don't know what you are missing out on.

Having kids is THE purpose to life.

My Goddess wife had 2 children in her late twenties. It changed my life completely.

It has been so fulfilling. Seriously, it is what makes life worthwhile in SPITE of all the bullshit going on.

Every morning when they hug me, I KNOW we made the RIGHT DECISION.

This is not like "should I use Python or C++ for this project?".

This is THE LIFE I was looking for!

Congratulations! Well done! Positive result!

2026-01-30T14:09:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…gwg5
_________________________

Congratulations! Well done! Positive result!

Xfce desde 2008

2026-01-23T14:58:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…fzyd
_________________________

Xfce desde 2008

Meanwhile, China has 9 political parties which co-operate ...

2026-01-17T14:04:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…cvq9
_________________________

Meanwhile, China has 9 political parties which co-operate together to set goals for the nation and they monitor the results of the ruling party.

Amazing, parties can actually work together for the benefit of the people! Who knew?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_China

I guess you don't actually listen to any of the Chinese ...

2026-01-15T23:28:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…x5z2
_________________________

I guess you don't actually listen to any of the Chinese bloggers then ... ?

I don't know if you are aware but China actually has 9 ...

2026-01-15T14:49:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…aqcy
_________________________

I don't know if you are aware but China actually has 9 political parties that co-operate together.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_China

In addition, Hong Kong and Macau operate under a different political system. Even Taiwan has its own system.

I'd say there's plenty room for democracy in China, compared to the USA's 2 party system which some call the Uniparty ... just saying

which is why China is going to win the AI war despite its CPUs ...

2026-01-15T14:45:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…y3s8
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which is why China is going to win the AI war despite its CPUs being slower.

A fast CPU does you no good if there's not enough electricity to run the damn thing.

Meanwhile, China has EXCESS electricity and is still building out more supply.

They have nuclear, hydro, solar, wind plus battery storage options plus new energy development.

Hmm. I hear you. I worship coffee myself. Writing didn't ...

2026-01-15T11:56:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…77v3
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Hmm. I hear you. I worship coffee myself.

Writing didn't really work for me either until I started my personal wiki. Now, it's my superpower. Lets me review and revise what I've written.

Now it's hard to stop writing ...

Maybe cut back on sugar ... I find there's an energy crash at ...

2026-01-15T11:45:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…xjl8
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Maybe cut back on sugar ... I find there's an energy crash at a certain point afterwards ...

Also, I find it's useful to write things down as I go, keeps me from getting confused, losing track of what I'm working on ... just saying

"democratically chosen" ... huh, how's that working ...

2026-01-07T15:25:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…aqcy
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"democratically chosen" ... huh, how's that working out for you so far?

You talk about democracy like it's some magic powder that you can sprinkle over dirty politics and all of a sudden, it's sparkling white and clean, like those old washing powder advertisements.

Looking at the development of democracy in, say the USA, for example, where originally only wealthy LANDOWNERS were allowed to vote. The common man had to fight to be able to vote, then minorities, then women ... is that ok?

Probably not. Please help me to understand then. I know China ...

2026-01-06T11:24:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…0aeu
_________________________

Probably not. Please help me to understand then.

I know China uses Linux. They are dedicated to open source, even Deep Seek is open sourced.

The Nine-tailed Fox is a Chinese legend, so that covers fox girls. :)

And they do have a more participatory democracy. It just looks different to what you might think.

Please expand on your views so that I can learn, sensei

I could be wrong but it sounds like you need to move to China ... ...

2026-01-05T23:13:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…896p
_________________________

I could be wrong but it sounds like you need to move to China ... ?

Dear PattyHanson, Somehow I feel you are confusing Trump as the ...

2026-01-05T15:02:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…8nzx
_________________________

Dear PattyHanson,

Somehow I feel you are confusing Trump as the source of the problem. Trump is not the problem. He is only a symptom of the problem.

You may not think so but most likely that is because you may be an American citizen. You have been brainwashed from infancy to believe in the "American way of life", something given by God to a special people in a special part of the planet.

The rest of us see America itself (and its vassals) as the problem. Clearer now?

A friend dropped off 2 old but still working PCs yesterday. One ...

2025-04-23T19:22:14Z

A friend dropped off 2 old but still working PCs yesterday. One still has a working 500GB HD with Windows7 on it. I have no use for Windows7.

Considering what to put on it - Slackware or Canaima GNU/Linux 8.0?

Look for a program called "detox". It replaces the spaces ...

2025-04-21T20:46:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…t885
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Look for a program called "detox". It replaces the spaces in filenames with an underscore.

You know, after using Emacs for a year and 4 months now, I am ...

2025-04-20T01:34:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…287w
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You know, after using Emacs for a year and 4 months now, I am asking myself the same thing about vi/vim, an editor I used exclusively for 40+ years.

Of course, the first package I installed on Emacs was evil :)

+1 on Nokia. they will tear my Nokia 6230 on my cold, dead hands ...

2025-04-17T23:54:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…urs3
_________________________

+1 on Nokia.

they will tear my Nokia 6230 on my cold, dead hands :)

I'm running Slackware 15.0 on a ThinkPad T410i laptop, which ...

2025-04-17T12:56:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…9caq
_________________________

I'm running Slackware 15.0 on a ThinkPad T410i laptop, which came out in 2010. Still rocking on.

Ok, BTW, it was free coz the owner had it sitting in a cupboard doing nothing and I just asked for it.

Why spend money on new computers when old ones still work?

And on the MS Office discussion, sigh, just use Emacs. Text is universal. Have we learned nothing in the last 50 years?

You know, the tech bros wouldn't been lording it over us if we didn't co-operate with them.

Sanctioned countries can make their own GNU/Linux distros eg. ...

2025-04-14T15:17:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…ukuq
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Sanctioned countries can make their own GNU/Linux distros eg. Venezuela's Canaima 8.0, based on Debian.

Very modern art looking bridge, good idea!

2025-04-10T11:31:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…pwg6
_________________________

Very modern art looking bridge, good idea!

Either a really advanced microwave oven or some kind of network ...

2025-04-07T11:15:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…hxmr
_________________________

Either a really advanced microwave oven or some kind of network traffic analyser ...

It reminds me of the old Compaq lunch box type PC

https://www.flickr.com/photos/befuddledsenses/493303864/

Not on a continent. I live on an island. The world is not just ...

2025-04-06T19:06:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…6dqt
_________________________

Not on a continent. I live on an island.

The world is not just continents. Your continent prejudice is showing.

I normally use either ncdu or jdiskreport if I need more info ...

2025-04-01T18:11:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…ptv3
_________________________

I normally use either ncdu or jdiskreport if I need more info than a basic df -Tm

I can't remember when last I used du.

If I'm feeling particularly lazy, I'll use mc, the Midnight Commander to give me a sorted list of directories by size.

Really? I get a wall of IP addresses ... when I run traceroute ...

2025-04-01T18:04:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…awdj
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Really? I get a wall of IP addresses ... when I run

traceroute www.google.com

Saying code is "magic" is just a subtle way of devaluing ...

2025-03-30T11:14:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…33gq
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Saying code is "magic" is just a subtle way of devaluing the hard work and effort coders put into their work.

It's a way to say "We can pay you less because you're using unfair magic", rather than saying "We need to pay you more because you work really hard!"

There's this attitude "add computers and stir" that devalues IT professionals as if the computers will automatically configure themselves and MAGICALLY produce the correct output.

Don't raise my blood pressure this morning!

I'm kinda ambivalent about LibreOffice. I have it installed, ...

2025-03-30T11:08:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…h44n
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I'm kinda ambivalent about LibreOffice. I have it installed, of course, but I've never really mastered it.

Never been a big word processing user. Spent most of my working life in vi or vim.

But I know someone who created a 587 page book using LibreOffice, so it's a useful and usable tool.

Stallman was right about Free Software. We're seeing that now in the way the subscription model is taking over.

So, I'm really glad LibreOffice exists to give people an alternative.

The root cause of the problem isn't billionaires. It's ...

2025-03-30T10:58:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…r72f
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The root cause of the problem isn't billionaires.

It's capitalism.

We keep expecting capitalism to behave like socialism because the capitalists fooled us with placebos like the NHS while they changed the rules without us noticing.

No, the cure is to get rid of capitalism altogether so that billionaires can't exist.

Otherwise they'll just do it again.

It's kinda ridiculous that the British, who developed capitalism after the Dutch invented it, don't understand this.

I'd be more inclined to use "Ctrl+S" (xoff) to pause ...

2025-03-30T10:52:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…krta
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I'd be more inclined to use "Ctrl+S" (xoff) to pause the output.

You know, stop it for a while to consider error messages in the text ..

At one point, when I was catching hell with my Huawei router, I ...

2025-03-30T10:48:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…g3l7
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At one point, when I was catching hell with my Huawei router, I even considered buy a cheap Linksys router and putting that between the Huawei and the rest of my network.

My pride (and poverty) didn't allow me to do that :)

But I found a compromise - the Huawei allowed me to define a second subnet onto which I put my servers at static IP addresses. I don't know if your router supports that feature ...

Speaking as someone who has done a LOT of virtual machine stuff ...

2025-03-29T14:29:55Z

Speaking as someone who has done a LOT of virtual machine stuff over time, what EXACTLY are you referring to?

What kind of virtual networks are you trying to build?

Most configs have pretty clear explanations all over the net.

I'm not saying you're wrong but most of this stuff is available already ... ?

Friend, I wrote a script that used FTP to login to an IBM AS/400 ...

2025-03-29T14:21:59Z

Friend, I wrote a script that used FTP to login to an IBM AS/400 server, download a file, pass it through dd to convert it from EBCDIC to ASCII, parsed it using awk to output SQL INSERT statements and update a database, then run SQL scripts via cron to output reports in the morning.

It ran so well that I completely forget it was still running 2 years later.

The FTP scars are DEEP! :)

I want to support everything you mentioned in your blog post. I ...

2025-03-27T12:26:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…6dfx
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I want to support everything you mentioned in your blog post.

I think it is the most important issue of all in software development AND maintenance.

Was it a Broadcom NIC?

2025-03-25T21:34:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…4qg4
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Was it a Broadcom NIC?

Sounds like a job for tcpdump/wireshark to suss out what it's ...

2025-03-24T09:54:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…fmfx
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Sounds like a job for tcpdump/wireshark to suss out what it's trying to connect to, so you can block those IP addresses in your firewall.

But really, no one should have to do that ...

I hear you. I have a shelf of old laptops that I tell myself ...

2025-03-24T09:50:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…r7r0
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I hear you.

I have a shelf of old laptops that I tell myself I'll get fixed SOMEDAY, but they're just collecting dust.

Sometimes I can re-use something, like the Linksys router from 2011 upstairs but I know next to nothing about fixing electronics, so ...

There are Youtubers who hack old stuff, so maybe you could reach out to them and see if you can offload some of it ... ?

Where I was born and grew up, English was the mother tongue. Up ...

2025-03-20T22:30:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…3960
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Where I was born and grew up, English was the mother tongue. Up til my 20s, I spoke only English. I learned to speak some Spanish and spent a lot of time traveling for my job in Latin America.

A thinking person begins to realise that the narrative about Latin America being lazy and corrupt does not reflect the reality.

I would never have known that if I didn't leave the warm bubble on my mother tongue.

Yes! Go outside the very real bubble you have been living in. ...

2025-03-20T21:51:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…mnsl
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Yes!

Go outside the very real bubble you have been living in.
Experience the rest of the world which is the MAJORITY of the world.
And leave the collective West. Don't just go to Europe, Japan, South Korea, etc.

Actually visit a country where you don't speak the language! Force yourself to learn a totally different perspective on life.

You will find that people everywhere are just people, just like you, even if they speak a different language, have a different skin colour, etc. Go!

Hard as compared to ... ? I've used in a few projects and ...

2025-03-19T11:26:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…avxj
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Hard as compared to ... ?

I've used in a few projects and didn't find it particularly difficult. I've used several other databases and they were all more or less the same level of headache ...

What tools are you using to manipulate your databases?

There's one called "adminer" which works from a web UI that's fairly simple to use.

https://www.adminer.org/

I find having hair is over-rated. I just shave my head every few ...

2025-03-12T12:51:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…pg27
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I find having hair is over-rated. I just shave my head every few months.

Also, brain runs cooler after ... :)

Here is another, different but related technology - terminal ...

2025-03-11T11:59:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…jp6x
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Here is another, different but related technology - terminal servers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAllRma_0xc

Yes you can. That's how ALL UNIX workstations used to boot ...

2025-03-11T11:50:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…9xuj
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Yes you can.

That's how ALL UNIX workstations used to boot back in the old days. Sun used to sell diskless workstations that would all share the same NFS shares over a network.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-2

I thought this was magic when I first encountered a Sun workstation.

Then, I realised you could do the same thing with a Novell Netware server (IPX/SPX), or off a Windows98 shared folder (SMB), or off an HTTPS shared folder (HTTPS).

Network booting is such fun! :)

Hmm, that 'dust' comment took me back to a visit to Peru ...

2025-03-11T11:43:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…4yet
_________________________

Hmm, that 'dust' comment took me back to a visit to Peru back in the 1980s.

Lima, Peru is basically on the edge of a desert and there is a LOT of dust.

The customer service ladies wore plastic sleeves over their shirts to prevent them getting dirty from contact with the counters and desks. The dust was everywhere.

I didn't realise how bad it was until the IT guy mentioned that the main computer, an IBM PC AT, was running a little hot.

It was COMPLETELY FULL of dust. Still ran!

That's the basis of capitalism, don't you know?

2025-03-10T13:15:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…x0cj
_________________________

That's the basis of capitalism, don't you know?

I've always thought of it as a way to destroy system ...

2025-03-10T13:13:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…6nsr
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I've always thought of it as a way to destroy system administration as a career by reducing everything down to automated scripts.

So, the job is devalued and can be paid less.

That's the lie behind "cattle, not pets". It's not about treating systems as cattle but treating the system administrators as cattle. Actually, more like fodder than cattle.

I very rarely leave the house these days, thanks all the same :)

2025-03-09T23:35:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…u2g4
_________________________

I very rarely leave the house these days, thanks all the same :)

Hmm, John Taylor Gatto might disagree with you there. He believed ...

2025-03-09T22:36:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…78cm
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Hmm, John Taylor Gatto might disagree with you there. He believed that education in the USA was basically indoctrination.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeEWPbTad_Q