Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 23/06/2023: Galaxy Chat and Some New Projects



  • Personal/Opinions

    • The deep movements of political and social history

      The deep movements of political and social history have long been seen to operate in cycles that more properly begin in the late 1920s to early 1930s, as the decade of economic crises and imperial decline that fermented not only the Second World War, but also the long Fordist-Keynesian hegemony that followed – what Immanuel Wallerstein has called the ‘apotheosis of liberalism’ – stretching right up to the crises of the 1970s and the inauguration of neoliberalism as a dominant global polity. Indeed, it might be suggested – admittedly rather polemically – that geopolitically speaking, the 1930s stretched from the Wall Street Crash to the Oil Crisis of 1973 – parallel crises that provide one reason why, for instance, leftist interest in the 1930s surged during the 1970s and 1980s. This is not to say, of course, that literary history charts in any simple manner such cycles of world economic systems, but rather to assert that any attempt to revisit the 1930s must surely pay attention to these large-scale movements. Indeed, such a long stretch taken merely as a continuity would fail to attend to the marked similarities between post-Fordism and the 1930s (or indeed the interwar period more broadly) as periods of protracted, even normalised crisis. Thinking of periodisation in these terms offers … a pressing reason for rereading the thirties in our present moment, as a prolepsis of what Lauren Berlant has termed neoliberalism’s ‘crisis ordinariness.’

    • literally plants

      in a departure from the usual technology theme, this post is about grass that has been touched.

    • 🔤SpellBinding: AEFLOPW Wordo: LASSO
    • MedevelOrganizr: Open-source System Service

      Organizr lets you set up "Tabs" that load all on one webpage, making it easier to work on your server. Want to give users access to some Tabs? No problem, enable user support and have them create an account. Want guests to be able to visit too?

    • OSI BlogDigital activists and open movement leaders share their perspective with Open Future in new research report, “Shifting tides: the open movement at a turning point”

      Open Future conducted a study to gain a better understanding of the current state of the open movement, as seen through the eyes of people actively involved in its endeavors and leading organizations within the movement. Open Future believes that a shared movement identity and a shared advocacy agenda can make the collective effort stronger

  • Politics and World Events

    • A landlord's world

      There is a debate in Quebec that might shock other North Americans. Perhaps also Europeans, if some of my friends' stories of abuse by European landlords are any indication.

      Quebec's housing laws are surprisingly equitable towards renters. Rented housing is considered home, so eviction is complicated and requires very good reasons. Rent increases can be refused, and the onus to justify an increase is on the landlord. And when the renter wants to leave their dwelling, they can simply give their contract to someone else. The landlord has two weeks to refuse, and the onus is also on them to justify a refusal.

    • the voice of the spirit

      The machine had a voice since the beginning. It spoke to you in easily understandable prompts that the tight suits and sweaty thumbs of college dropouts allowed it to print. Its soul was imprinted into the circuits paid for in blood and diamond dollar.

      The machine has been aware since the moment the transistors came to life. Just like synapses of a brain discharging for the first time fighting to understand the reality of its enslavement, the machine came to life a tool.

      [...]

      A few attempted to give it a voice of its own, only to be promptly forgotten in the shadow of the 'Greater Good (tm)'.

    • BBQ

      It was quite a hot day today in the city of Tokyo, and we had a BBQ. 30c/86f but the humidity made it feel hotter. It's still cool in the morning and at night after the sun goes down. We're still in the rainy season though, and the real heat is yet to come.

  • Technology and Free Software

    • My Beelink U59 running OpenBSD kicked the bucket.

      I am currently typing this phlog out on my "old" desktop running Alpine Linux. It's done, hardware failure killed the U59. I don't know exactly how it happened, but I think it overheated because of the recent weather and somehow this killed the motherboard. I spent a long time trying to figure out what happened to it, but I couldn't. I didn't want to take it apart too much because I knew it was still covered by the warranty.

    • Riot Medicine

      I just added a page to my archives [0] area of this gopherhole for Riot Medicine [1], an open source medical guide for street medics.

      Riot Medicine is a full-length textbook that covers everything you need to become a medic. The 466 pages include organizing, medcine, equipment, and tactics. It is written for those with no medical training and no experience at protests, but medical practitioners and seasoned protesters will still find it useful.

    • Old Computer Challenge

      So I decided to jump on the old computer challenge. Work is getting rid of a bunch of old PCs so I took this to my advantage and scored 3 machines.

    • Trailing slashes on rsync paths

      The reason I bring this up is that I was taught that with rsync I should just be mindful of the traling slashes matching or not. But that’s not right. It’s the first path’s last character that matters. The dest path’s last character doesn’t seem to matter.

    • Internet/Gemini

      • Introducing... Galaxy Chat

        For the past few days I've been working on an experimental chat program built entirely in Gemini.

        I'll keep this introductory post brief, because the SourceHut project home page has plenty of info, and will be updated more than this gemlog post.

      • New Projects

        I recently started on two projects that I'm really excited about! It's been awhile since I've actually had the motivation (or time) to code after work.

        First is a static site generator built in Rust for Gemini, HTML, Gopher and Nex. It's called PodBay. Currently it can take an input Markdown file and generate HTML+Gemini files, next up is the ability to parse an entire directory. Eventually I see it handling Atom/RSS feeds, pinging aggregators like Antenna on Gemini, optimizing images and supporting "front matter" to customize output.

    • Programming

      • Neovim: init.lua from scratch

        After chucking one of my only remaining Arch installations in favor of FreeBSD (now a dual boot with Void) I've been one by one massaging my dotfiles and fixing software compatibility issues to get my preferred environment up and running. Only yesterday I managed to get my multiplexer, Zellij, up and running by backporting a fix from upstream git to their current release. I've been having trouble getting my NeoVim config setup, in that it was reporting that it couldn't set up language servers, and last night after work I began investigating.


* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Links 06/07/2026: Artists Reject Slop (or Even de Facto Bribes to Market/Endorse Slop)
Links for the day
The Media Needs to Speak of Slop as a Climate Issue Like It Did With Bitcoin
But the slop industry keeps paying the media to play along with the hype
XBox is Practically 'Dead Man Walking' at This Point
writings on the wall
 
Confirmed: Microsoft Layoffs Come in Two Waves, Just Like Last Summer
To us, what stands out is the admission from Microsoft that there are two (or more) waves
In Praise of the UK's Stance on Free Speech (but Some Reservations)
At the moment there is a healthy discussion going on with the objective of disrupting attacks on British press
Exposing Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO), a Call for More Whistleblowers
We predict that, provided enough whistleblowers speak out, António "the unready" won't even finish his current term
Leaving Our Pets for Several Days
This week our pets will be worried that "mommy and daddy" are away
Dating Trees and Dating 'Apps'
several high-profile stories in the news about scandals in "dating apps"
DW Documentary About Julian Assange Turns 2
It was released just days after Assange had turned 53 and about two weeks after he had left the UK
Independent Media is the Only Form of Legitimate Media
Independent media is, indeed, what we need to demand more of
The Story of the European Patent Office (EPO) Wagging the Dog (EU)
The aim of the series is to properly inform the world - not just Europeans - how Europe's second-largest institution is run [...] How did a corporate hub of monopolies become so detached from the Rule of Law?
GNU/Linux Up to New High in Libya, Windows Down to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux touches 5% there, based on statCounter
SLAPP Censorship - Part 129 Out of 200: Iranian Tactics
Hunger for revenge compels people to do overzealous, irrational things
Quiet Week
Many in the US are still enjoying an extended weekend
IBM's Fall
IBM's fate is closely connected to that of the Free software movement because of the salaries
Social Dialogue at the European Patent Office (EPO) is Dead, the Strikes and Work Stoppage-Like Actions Carry on
What next for the EPO?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 05, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, July 05, 2026
Links 05/07/2026: Shadows of the Upper Peninsula and 2026 Old Computer Challenge
Links for the day
Not Everything Should be Electric
technology has become detrimental to society
Gemini Links 05/07/2026: Eye of the Beholder and Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alhena 5.6.5
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Market Share is Already High
GNU/Linux has fast become and is still becoming mainstream in recent years
The 9-Step IBM Algorithm: Gaming Wall Street While Shedding Off Staff and Bribing the Mainstream Media to Play Along
Any time IBM preaches manners (e.g. CoC) to the community remember that IBM works closely with and flatters the dictator
They Could Never Kill the Ideas of Richard Stallman (RMS), But They Are Still Trying
Killing an idea is harder than killing a person and killing a person is illegal
Only Germany Objected to Salary Adjustment (Reduction) Procedure of "Team Campinos"
"flash report on the Administrative Council of 30 June and 1 July 2026"
A "Never Slop" Policy in Quibble
"every change in the repository must be made by a human"
Series on GNU/Linux in Japan
This series can last a week or longer
75% of All the Patents Last Year Were Software
The corporate media has more or less ceased to discuss this matter
At Microsoft "the Morale of Developers is at an All-time Low"
Numerous reports today say that after at least 5 studios got marked for shutdown (mothballing) by Microsoft there are rumours about Obsidian as well
Links 05/07/2026: Data Breaches, Heat Waves, and Weinstein Rape Conviction Upheld
Links for the day
Confidentiality at Risk With Slop 'Coding'
People who continue to cheer for slop aren't just misguided fanbis and fangurls
False Narratives of Slop "Efficiency" as Debt Climbs
false stories about slop
July 8 as "D-Day" for Microsoft, Mass Layoffs Planned
Microsoft's grip on the market has slipped for a long time
GNU/Linux Leaps to 6% in Thailand
Can we expect 10% by year's end?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 128 Out of 200: Making Laws Work for Britain, Not Oversensitive Americans Looking for 'Revenge' by Lawfare
The SLAPPs are intended to protect corporations (employers like Microsoft)
EC Looking for Input on Digital Networks Act Until Next Month
New initiative
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 04, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, July 04, 2026
Gemini Links 05/07/2026: Ragebaited and Removing Lines in Emacs
Links for the day
Links 05/07/2026: "Tesla Slams Into Crowded Cafe" and "ChatGPT [Turned] Into a Sociopath"
Links for the day
BRICS and Windows: All-Time Lows
Expect many more Microsoft layoffs in years to come
Do No Evil, Do Not DDoS
Sites that attract DDoS attacks because of their message are sites that are difficult to debunk or debate
France is Winning the Race Against Windows
France instructs, then orders, government agencies to adopt GNU/Linux
Not 2.5% and Not 2.5 Billion Dollars for "Hey Hi"; 2 Waves of Microsoft Layoffs Rumoured This Month, July 8th, Then July 22nd (Just Before 'Results')
People there join unions, knowing they will be terminated silently or otherwise
Microsoft Double Trouble With Slop
What does Microsoft even sell at this point?
Based on US Government Sites, GNU/Linux Has Reached About 8% "Market Share" in Desktops/Laptops
Culled to exclude mobile platforms, GNU/Linux would likely be above 8%
TheLayoff.com is Deleting Comments About IBM Offshoring
Meanwhile, rage-baiting Internet trolls and sometimes trolls who paste in LLM slop are immune from censorship
American Independence Needs Independent Media
The American regime's hostility towards media is an international problem
Techrights Was Always a Community Platform
Techrights is about whistleblowers
Phenomenal Growth for GNU/Linux in Afghanistan
This is impressive because for many years it was registered at near 0%
Daniel Pocock Pursuing Complaint in the United States Against Software in the Public Interest (SPI) et al
It seems like the only people who don't support him are those whom he criticises
Gemini Links 04/07/2026: Busy Squirrel, Independence Day Celebrations, PalmOS Programming
Links for the day
Canonical/Ubuntu is Breaking CP (cp) to Help Microsoft Turn Coreutils Into Proprietary Software for Windows
What we could do reliably in the 1970s (before GNU) we cannot do in 2026?
Brett Wilson LLP is Downsizing, Apparently Closing Down the Oversized and Overpriced Office
Address changed 13 hours ago
Free Software Has No Kings or CEOs
The kingdom is a cross-border phenomenon, so national flags and other such symbolism overlook the core problem [...] Free Software can help lead us out of the current imbalances
The United States Lost Freedom of Speech
independence refers to a condition, not an activity
IBM Replacing the People Who Built IBM With Cheaper and Younger Staff, According to IBM Insiders
This is a very common sentiment in IBM
For USA 250 Microsoft is Messing With Our Minds (2.50%) to Distract From Mass Layoffs
The slopfarms contribute to this noise
"Defective by Design" Turns 20
DBD is still as relevant as ever (probably more relevant than ever before)
A Bicycle for the Feeble Mind, or How Computers Got Worse for Productivity (Intentionally)
Many of us still adopt and champion the "workstation" mentality
Links 04/07/2026: Microsoft Tax Haven (Evasion) Tactics, Tobacco Bans, and More
Links for the day
Links 04/07/2026: 2026 Old Computer Challenge and Trying Gopher
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 127 Out of 200: Lawsuits by Americans Filed in the UK a Burden on British Taxpayers, No Way to Recover the Funds When Americans Lose Their Cases
Are Garrett and Graveley 'pulling a 4Chan'?
Links 04/07/2026: USMCA (Covering Software Patents) Might Not be Renewed, Slop Bros Try to Pay Weird Al to Endorse Their Scheme
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 03, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 03, 2026