Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 24/07/2023: Goodbyes to the Web



  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • Gravity Circuit: First Impressions

        I only have vague memories of Mega Man... Mega Man *anything* (X, Zero, one, forty-two etc.). I admit I never played through any of them, but I must have played one or two levels on friends' consoles in the 1990's. Apparently this means I'm not the best to judge Gravity Circuit for its roots... I am probably similarly familiar with 2 other games that Gravity Circuit reminds me of - Shovel Knight (I think of it when using downwards attacks with Kai) and Steel Assault (surprised I haven't heard more mention of the similarities with this recent title).

        As of the time of writing, I have played through the initial stage, and then the one with the steel factory or whatever the one is where you can hop in something like a mech... And I'm definitely planning to play more! I'm not very good at it - I play on Easy and I still die pretty often. Part of it is the controls for me. Maybe I'm slower at internalizing control schemes than I was in my teens, now that those are a couple of decades behind me.

      • Rain Check

        Heavy rain this morning, the trip to the lake postponed. Instead we watched the Blue Jays squeak past the Mariners, then headed to our friends' place for supper. Pasta for the main course, chocolate peanut butter pie for dessert (I told you she was a good baker).

        In the reclaimed time this afternoon we gave one of the dogs a bath and I spent a few hours hacking on my forever project. I've put well over a thousand hours into it, over the years. Probably several multiples of that. I give it away on my website, offer it for free (with optional donation) on itch. I've made a few hundred bucks in a few years. Enough to cover my domain and hosting, break even, and that's enough.

    • Technology and Free Software

      • Hello world!

        Hello there! I'm a decade Linux veteran here to spread some information about the scene.

      • Internet/Gemini

        • I think I'm done with the web

          The title is a bit melodramatic, I know. I can't realistically abandon the web since I work in web technologies, and a lot of the stuff I have to do day-to-day requires the web. I guess I just feel tired. Something about the recent collapse of Twitter and the subsequent clamour of wannabe replacements has soured me to the "web" and the impossibility of wresting it away from greedy hands.

          The web was (at one point) an exciting place to me. Lots of interesting people writing about the things that fascinated them for no other reason than they wanted to write about it. They could potentially find a new community of people who share their passion, but equally they may be shouting into the void alone. It didn't matter. People just wrote and drew and shared.

        • Cool Capsule Of The Week: D Moonfire

          D Moonfire is organized in such a way that you can actually explore it. Its index isn’t a large list of everything on the capsule. Instead, it has links to some recent gemlog posts, short excerpts describing some locations with links scattered throughout, and a footer that appears on every page with links to even more locations. Because of this, it can be easy to lose your bearing after exploring and not know whether you’re reading the end of a random page, Dylan Moonfire’s gemlog, his biography, or the index. Surprisingly, this isn’t really a problem because you can always just go the the parent directory, the capsule index, or use one of the links in the footer to get around.

        • Advancing toward beddie bye time

          Oh wow, Gemini just got an order of magnitude better for me:

          Doctor Who Zone

          It was on the order of something like three decades ago that I started plowing through Doctor Who, a journey lasting through the first seven Doctors. Much of it was on good 'ole (public) broadcast TV, but I'm pretty sure I've some DVD's laying around somewhere.

      • Programming

        • Only One Script

          Sometimes there is a need to run only one instance of a script. Additionally, one may want to know when the script last ran or if the script is running how long ago it started. Various implementations of this pattern have various problems: the lock could fail, allowing multiple instances to start, or a stale lock could prevent any instances from starting. Failures involve manual intervention, and there may be additional cleanup work depending on exactly what went awry. Another thing to worry about is a script simply not running because 02:30 AM on a particular Sunday does not exist, or exists twice—thanks, daylight saving time!

        • Today's coding lesson: Head Up Ass Recursion

          As I've mentioned probably n+1 times too many, my beef with liberals began in the 1990s, when I started increasingly reading that "old white males" were the cause of all the world's ills. I was quite liberal up to that point, complete with irregularly-scheduled vehement arguments with my birth family. I still remember how great I felt when Clinton/Gore announced balancing the budget. I also remember thinking Joe Biden was a vile asshole back then.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

"Governments, local authorities, schools and hospitals can lead by example by procuring only Free Software"
Crossposted from Tux Machines
Cindy Cohn Leaving the Electronic Frontier Foundation While Its Co-founder John Gilmore, Whom She Apparently Helped Oust, Will Celebrate 40 Years of the Free Software Foundation, Inc.
EFF has been busy hoarding GAFAM money, whereas the latter is where all the real activism is done
"Google is Googlebombing KDE's Project Banana"
So is Google googlebombing KDE's Project Banana? You decide.
Some Very Large IRC Networks Are Growing
IRC will turn 38 next year
What Ruben Amorim and Stefano Maffulli Have in Common
Censors Wikipedia and Social Control Media
Microsoft Won't Cooperate in Trying to Tackle EPO Corruption (Microsoft Profits From This Corruption)
Use something like BigBlueButton, Jami, Ring, and Jitsi instead
We Are Sad to Hear the Story of Jonathan Riddell, Champion of KDE and GNU/Linux on Desktops/Laptops
I have enormous respect for Jonathan and everything he has done
 
"Disable Secure Boot and Fast Boot. Wipe and Start Over."
At least they didn't say, buy a new computer...
The Oracle Ponzi Scheme
Oracle isn't doing well, but it's nowadays fashionable to say "clown" and "hey hi" to prop up one's stock, even based on nothing at all
The New Head of OSI is an "Hey Hi" (AI) Obsessed Person
when Bryant says "AI" that doesn't mean AI
Taking Out the Battery, Opening Up Your Computer, Just Like a "Normie" Would
At this stage, any person who still says "enable Secure Boot" is misguided or persuaded by companies that sell rootkits
Slopwatch: Serial Sloppers and Slopfarms Still Infesting Google News (Fake 'Articles' About "Linux" Spreading FUD)
searching for "Linux" today yields a lot of FUD
The Reach of Techrights Has Broadened
We nowadays cover a broader range of issues
Complicating Things for No Actual Benefit, Just Added Risk and More Difficulties Adding GNU/Linux and BSDs
Watch what it's like for people who wish to use BSDs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 15, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 15, 2025
Links 16/09/2025: Autumn Party, RPG Planet, and Optical ROOPHLOCH
Links for the day
Geminispace Growing at Pace of Over 10% Per Year
Contrary to what some pessimists try to claim
Linux Mint Forums Today: Disable 'Secure Boot', It Doesn't Improve Security, It's Just a Microsoft Obstacle to GNU/Linux Users
They also mention MOK
Solved Less Than an Hour Ago: Trying to Escape Windows, 'Secure Boot' Gets in the Way
'Secure Boot' wasn't meant to even exist in the first place
Stefano Maffulli, Executive Director of the Open Source Initiative, Resigns or Gets Removed (We'll Continue Covering OSI Scandals)
A dozen mentions of "AI", not much about "Open Source"
Andy Has Just Nailed It (Regarding Complexity and Failure, a la UEFI)
The users no longer own or control what they buy
Compatibility Support Module (CSM) Versus GNU/Linux Simplicity
what Andy recently called "solutionism"
Links 15/09/2025: "Postal Traffic to US Down by Over 80%" and 'Smart' Spinozacampus Laundry Room Goes AWOL
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/09/2025: Dungeon Hustle and Deleting Oneself From the Net
Links for the day
Breach of EPO's Duty of Care or Cigna Reimbursement Issues
This is the sort of thing that motivated Luigi Mangione to assassinate a CEO
Ask Ubuntu About "Secure Boot" Violation and Laptops That Don't Boot GNU/Linux
Does anyone still believe that "Secure Boot" has anything at all to do with security?
Talking About the Problem vs Talking to the Problem
Wanting an audience is never a good excuse for compromising one's values and principles
Focusing on Patents
The reason we cover the EPO so much is that it's close to home
"Secure Boot Violation": The 'Joys' of Fake Security Gone Wrong
Not everyone reboots every day
Links 15/09/2025: Russia Invades Romanian Airspace, Penske Media Sues Google Over LLM Slop
Links for the day
Links 15/09/2025: Bitcoin ATMs Scam and "Conservative Cryptography" (Backdoors Fantasies)
Links for the day
EPO Imitates Microsoft: "Three Days or More Per Week" Inside the Office to Get a Desk to Work on; "the Office Breaches Its Promise Towards Staff and Acts in Breach of Its Duty of Care"
The EPO serves no actual function in Europe
Links 15/09/2025: Political Affairs, Censorship, and Copyrights
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/09/2025: Music Genres, Invisible Networks, and Akademy 2025
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 14, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 14, 2025
Satya's Plan B: Try to Hide the Massive Extent/Scale/Scope of Microsoft Layoffs
fewer people buy Microsoft
Red Hat News About De Facto Mass Layoffs (Bluewashing) Gone From Reddit (Censored by Gatekeepers), Still Online in The Register
With RTOs, PIPs, relocation etc. expect IBM to "shed off" many Red Hatters
UEFI "Secure Boot Doesn’t Play Nice at the Moment"
UEFI "Secure Boot" does not improve security. It's an artificial obstacle in service of monopoly.
Gemini Links 14/09/2025: ROOPHLOCH, Music, and Reddit
Links for the day
If You Want to "make your 'Windows PC' lean, mean, and fast" You Will Install GNU/Linux or Some BSD
That kind of article says a lot about IDG
Slopwatch: Google News Infested With Slop (About Half of the Results for "Linux" Today)
This is the sort of junk one finds when looking for "Linux" in Google News these days
Links 14/09/2025: Ricky Hatton Dies and McDonald's Declares War on Tipping Culture
Links for the day
Links 14/09/2025: Disasters for CEOs Obsessed With Slop and Slop Companies School Like Fish
Links for the day
"Bad Shim Signature" (Microsoft 'Secure' Boot)
"Fresh install not booting"
What Microsoft Garrett and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
Similar tactics, different "wings"
Links 14/09/2025: US "Economy Sagging", "Michigan Economy Wobbles From Tariffs"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/09/2025: Minimalist Snippet Manager and Omarchy Linux
Links for the day
The Face of the Digital Far Right: Microsoft Lunduke
Microsoft Lunduke is an online extremist that belongs to and panders to the far right
20 Years Later and Academia Isn't the Same
"I never dreamed of being a professor"
'Cancel Culture' by the Right: Microsoft Lunduke Contacts People's Employers Trying to Get Them Fired
Microsoft Lunduke panders to extremists online
"Bad Shim Signature"; So 'Secure' That It Overrides Users' Preferences and Turns Itself Back on (Coercive Measure)
This was a few hours ago
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 13, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 13, 2025