An eclectic #nerdy #weirdo.

In addition to tech, #Linux, and other things #FLOSS, I’m also into #travel, jam bands (mostly Grateful Dead), music festivals, and anything related to exploring the #cosmos.

All puns are intended.

#actuallyautistic #deadhead #hockey

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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • Usually, I just smoke cannabis until my body goes “TIMBEEEEERRR!” ;-P

    Seriously, though, routine plays a big role. I tend to lay down/wake-up at around the same time every day. About an hour before I go to bed, I put on a comfort TV show & brush my teeth. At this point, notifications are being silenced on my phone until the next morning, so less incentives to pick it up. While I’m watching the show, I intermittently close my eyes for a few minutes as a signal to my brain about the direction we’re heading, helps keep the peanut gallery in my head from getting chatty right as I’m laying down.

    White noise while I sleep is required, I need something constant that covers-up the incidental noises. Otherwise, I pop awake when someone runs the faucet or what-have-you.

    That’s what I’ve figured out works for me, YMMV.





  • “Stable” doesn’t necessarily refer to “reliable,” depending on the context. Stable is often used in reference to how often a distro releases new versions of the applications. Using Audacity as an example, in the current release of the distro, they’ll release security & bug fixes for version 2, but if you want version 3, you’ll have to wait until the next distro release.

    Upgrades to a new version of an application can introduce new ways of using the app (i.e. icons in different places, how user-created files are written to disk, etc.), which is disruptive to enterprise op’s, which is why Debian & RHEL take this approach.

    Hopefully that helps clarify things.





  • I used to use Joplin, I liked that it integrated with my Nextcloud, and the markdown format. However, the way that it handles the markdown files was too black-boxey to me, with the way it split them up in a weird scheme.

    Now I use Ghostwriter with straight markdown files inside my Nextcloud folder. So I still get the syncing functionality, but a more flexible setup that doesn’t require a specific app to access all of my notes.


  • I say go for it. I’ve been using it for about 2 years, and I no longer feel like distro-hopping (not sure if you fall into that category of Linux user), because it’s not opinionated about how it’s meant to be used. It gives you all the tools (and foot-guns) to do whatever you want with your computer.

    You don’t need separate computers for a local mirror and/or build server to run Gentoo, I’ve never done that. I’ve never owned a Mac, so I can’t really offer any tips hardware-wise, but use a live USB of a distro that you’re already familiar with, so you can refer to the handbook as you go. The people on Gentoo’s IRC channel & forums are very helpful if you come against any roadblocks.

    It does take a while, not gonna gloss over that. Once you have it installed, there are very few issues that would require a full re-install. Portage is an awesome package manager, the language of its warnings/errors took some time to wrap my brain around, but it’s very verbose in describing what’s going on.





  • I never recommend Manjaro, even for experienced users. Multiple times, they’ve let their ssl certificats expire, and renewing those has been easy to automate for a number of years at this point. There have been a number of cases where they ship work-in-progress versions of software as part of their default install, and there was an open letter posted calling this out: https://dont-ship.it

    So in my opinion, Manjaro leaves much to be desired from a project governance standpoint.

    Now, using an Arch-based distro that does the install process for you doesn’t absolve you from learning what it takes to maintain an Arch install; at some point, something will crop-up that requires manual intervention to get back up & running again after an update.

    If that is what you’re looking for, I suggest EndeavourOS.


  • If you want a rolling release, I suggest going with openSUSE Tumbleweed. The installer allows you to pick & choose what you do/don’t want/need, and has a great rollback system in case an update causes problems.

    Otherwise, I would suggest Fedora. Stays very current, and the in-place upgrade process is very seamless at this point.




  • Yeah, the average user: 1) doesn’t care what’s running under the hood, and 2) doesn’t want to control what’s running under the hood.

    I’m definitely not an “average user.” I like specifying that I don’t want wifi, bluetooth, or dvd functionality on my desktop when I have no need/desire to use them. So use flags are one of the main reasons I use Gentoo. Occasionally, it causes some mild irritation, but it’s a net-positive for me.


  • Can’t say that I’ve really used any of the features mentioned in this list, so doesn’t really affect my experience negatively. Also, updating some icon sets to fit with the overall theme would provide a more unified experience. So two thumbs-up from me for removing code that, by & large, wasn’t getting used, should help maintaining it in the long run.