• reads toot
• vague confusion
• man 3 system
• HOLY FORKING SHIRTBALLS

#LossyPNG

#AltText:

Image 1:
A screenshot of an OpenBSD i3wm desktop with the #dillo browser showing the snac admin interface while drafting this toot.
There is an xterm window floating above it showing the output of neofetch

Image 2:
The same desktop, xterm, and #DilloBrowser, but showing my front page on snac.bsd.cafe

Both images are color-reduced for size ("Lossy PNG")

Keep haunting me, my peeps. I'll never love you any less, no matter where I end up. 😍

#fosstodon @[email protected]

Hi, I'm R.L. I've dabbled in the fediverse since 2018 (originally mastodon.host (sadly defunct), then librem.one around 2019, then fosstodon starting in April 2022, then alpha.polymaths.social in fall 2023, and finally polymaths.social last October).

Last week, I migrated my main fediverse account from the excellent fosstodon.org to polymaths.social to take advantage of the camaraderie there, and of course the generous post character count limits. XD

I've dabbled in Linux since 1997, used it at home since 2000, and used it full time uninterrupted as my daily driver since 2019.

I've dabbled in the BSDs since 2022 or so, and currently have an #OpenBSD #Thinkpad which I use as a dedicated writing machine.

I love the power (hardware compatibility, feature set) and ease-of-use of Linux, and the "purity" and "unixyness" of the BSDs.

I was an infosec analyst and sysadmin in a previous life, but have left that behind, for my own sanity's sake. ;)

This will be my backup account, so please definitely follow me at @[email protected], but I look forward to having enjoyable chats on here as well from time to time.

Many thanks to @[email protected] for adding me!

P.S., Thanks for all the boost/retoot love! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

FreeBSD hasn't been perfect, there are occasional momentary hangs when loading large websites (for some reason), and every now and then Wayland/sway will just completely lose the plot and force me to shut down...

But dang if #ZFS isn't freaking bulletproof.

#Poll: How many #fediverse accounts do you have, total?

This can include anything that posts and fully interacts with the fediverse, including, but not limited to, mastodon, glitch, hometown, gotosocial, snac, honk, pixelfed, microblog, loops, and lemmy.

Don't include non-extant accounts or instances, obviously. ;)

Just totally normal #FreeBSD things, nothing to see here, uh, just a slight timekeeping malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?

rld@Intrepid:~$ which uptime
/usr/bin/uptime
rld@Intrepid:~$ which guptime
/usr/local/bin/guptime
rld@Intrepid:~$ man guptime |grep -ci "\<gnu\>"
7
rld@Intrepid:~$ uptime
 8:03AM  up  8:30, 3 users, load averages: 0.92, 0.68, 0.50
rld@Intrepid:~$ guptime
 08:03:42  up 30 days 23:45,  1 user,  load average: 0.92, 0.68, 0.50
rld@Intrepid:~$ 

Isn't nvim also pivoting to AI?

I found Baldur's recent article on the subject enlightening: https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2026/the-two-worlds-of-programming/

Basically, the people who are boosting AI are the same people boosting crappy tools like bloated JS frameworks (my takeaway, not necessarily a summary of his words).

So, if you love the craft of programming, you likely hate A.I. and bad tools.

If you see it as a means to an end ($$$), then you'll embrace any exploitative garbage to help you slop out more code, at any cost.

@omar Sad, but true

As I understand, some projects became slopware just because some "passer by single-commit contributor" made a PR using LLM, and main developers just accepted their PR… It is sadlier, I think

DNS the Menace. XD

Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh

I haven't tried vimwiki, mostly because I find the learning curve to really take advantage of n?vim's features far too steep\*. I'm a 26-year vim newbie. XD

*\ IOW, I'd rather just use a plain directory structure and some custom script for things like search and tagging, or whatnot. But I totally get it if vimwiki fits your use case, I'm not knocking it.

I haven't tried elVIs in a long time, though. I wonder how it'd compare.

I tried kakoune, and loved the fact that it tries to be a user-friendly vim-like editor, but it broke some very long-standing vi muscle memory for me. Same goes for Helix, IIRC.

I really just wish that modern Unix TUI programs were as easy to use and feature-discoverable as Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS.

There's always nvi (a.k.a. BSD vi) and elVIs. ;)

Shout out to all my friends who are asking themselves if they are angry enough to learn a new text editor.

Weird! Maybe let grunfink know, it might be an issue that can be opened for the #servo team.

snac2 really? Such a simple web interface. It works in dillo!

@golemwire

> When I find something I like, I end up feeling like a salesman and I don't like it 😆

No shame in that, I'm still waiting for my fat commission check from Big #BSD. 😂

Reminds me of when I do open *.pdf on my computer at work (open is a shell function that eventually calls xdg-open). It goes from nothing to having a dozen Zathura windows open at once.

Feels like Star Trek, man. XD

@[email protected]

I don't use the web interface directly 99% of the time, but yes, I think it does.

His account just wasn't being found initially from snac, for some reason. GtS could see it fine.

snac can be a bit odd to use at times, but I like it. ;)

Still can't see your account. Let's try @[email protected]

I just remember installing noto-emoji and openmoji, and that seemed to do it?

For some reason, some programs like dmenu are still in black-and-white, but alacritty is in color.

Emoji got a lot better in #OpenBSD 7.8.

Wanting to explore a #philosophical question in the form of a #ShortStory and #poll:

You're in an estate sale, rummaging around for something you can use in an upcoming hobby project when you come across a heavily patinaed old brass lamp. Wanting to get some sense of its quality, you pick it up and begin rubbing the side of the lamp with your sleeve.

Just then, some kind of smoke begins billowing out of the end of the lamp, and a fog fills the room. Stunned, you look around you and then see the imposing figure of a man in middle-eastern garb and a large headdress suddenly standing before you.

"A GENIE!!" you cry in astonishment.

"That's kinda racist, fam," the not-genie replies. "I'm a djinn, actually, and I'm not going to grant you three wishes."

"You're... not?"

"Nope! But since you did release me from my prison, I have a proposition for you. If you permanently release me, I will give you moderate riches. I will give you the equivalent of 10 times the average yearly salary for someone in the country in which you reside, and you will be untouched by disease, famine, violence, or bonds of any sort. But, since I live forever in my ethereal plane, you will live forever. Everyone around you will age normally and die eventually, but you will retain your health and youth forever. And by forever, I mean forever. Cataclysmic, world-ending events like very late stage climate change, meteor bombardment, the end of your star's life-cycle, or even the heat death of the universe will only reset your timeline to today, after our conversation. Upon the reset, you will continue with the memories of all past timelines, but be able to do things differently, if you like."
"So, you can learn a new language, ten languages, all languages. You never have to work again, or you can study for that job you always wanted. You can better yourself and become a timeless renaissance person, or sit for eternity on your couch, watching telly and eating crisps. But you will be eternal."
"What'll it be?"

(I will attempt to answer any questions you might have for the djinn.)

Check this link for updates:
https://polymaths.social/@rl_dane/statuses/01KEHQVWZBJDCAPC6WNJ4VBY55

Ah, sorry if I misread your context.

Welcome to adulthood? ;)

#ThisIsTheWay

Unreal 🤦‍♂️

...but my dopamine-crackhead-hamster brain is simply addicted.

Never seen one in person (I'm in the U.S.), but I've heard about them going back many years.

Having to have a bit that fits the head perfectly would be a bit of a bummer, but I concede that it'd be far superior in terms of fit and not stripping or slipping.

Mental image of SONY execs dapping with huge wads of cash in their fists.

Seems to be sold, still, but the price is eye-watering.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-NW-ZX707-Portable-Touchscreen-Bluetooth/dp/B0BS78BJBX

PERFECTION

https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/28/bofh_2025_episode_22/

Some highlights in there: Tigger is cuddling Perry the Platypus. We did a bunch of games for Disney, so everyone started getting me Perry stuff. Tigger liked to cuddle him.

I made the flute from some old bamboo that was being thrown out. (I have like... 3(?) as well as a concert flute under the desk)

The wooden box is a "useless machine".

Stirling engine sitting on top of my computer. (used for cooling my tea)

The first thing I noticed was that Hobbes wasn't jumping up on my bed as effortlessly as before. The other big tell that I didn't understand at the time was that he'd start hiding himself in the cupboards and not answering when I called. I didn't know at the time that a cat's instinct is to die alone. 😥

Fortunately, he was absolutely not alone when he passed. I and my aunt were with him.

On a happier note, sweet desk pic!! Tell me about the flute, the gaming handheld, the... is that a Kurta calculator?!?

Oh, and the Data and Spot painting. 🥹

Very contented cat, 100/10 would headpat.

@[email protected]

Huh, it's light on my machine. It must be respecting your machine/browser's light/mode preference?

Also, my vote is absolutely for the BSD. XD

--Sent from my FreeBSD thinkpad. XD

Alt...

freebsd.org on my machine

Now I'm hearing "Modern C" in my head set to "Modern Love" by Davie Bowie. XD

Man, what a song. Classic.

Oh wow, they make the book available for free download. RESPECT!

Sounds like something I could sink my teeth into, thanks.

At least, it's work I could feel some sort of pride/respect for, vs. "Let's just slop something together with AI and JS frameworks, herp-a-derp!" 🤣

Will have to do some more reading. Thanks again for the ideas and recommendations.

Bookmarked, thank you!

Follow up question: are there any jobs for this potential ADHD hyperfocus/hyperfixation of mine? XD
Or is everything slipshod and "just use AI" now? 🤦‍♂️

Does reading K&R (or the modern ANSI equivalent) really teach you everything you need to delve into C? Like, go read up some kernel source (not the really hairy low-level stuff, but anything from the bulk of it)?

If not, what would be the next step after reading it?

Oh, that was a brilliant form factor. The last true small phone.

I'm kind of done with phones in general, from a privacy standpoint (terrible), from a usability standpoint (can haz real keyboard plox?), and now from a visibility standpoint (old eyes not loving focusing on something less than an arms-length away).

I'm going to try to keep this Pixel 7 for as long as possible.

And yeah, I remember 2007 when people were flipping their lids for the iPhone, calling it the "JesusPhone."

There hasn't been any hardware all that interesting since then.
And Apple absolutely does not have the vision to produce a revolutionary product like that anymore.

Man, I'd call that winning. I've never made it to four years with a single phone. 🤦‍♂️

And the phone I had the very longest (in terms of daily-driving)? The ultra, ultra, ULTRA-cursed iPhone 5c. XD

I had the green one. I don't know why I didn't nickname it "Limey Bastard," it would've fit.

I still have it, and my beloved old iPhone 4, sitting on my shelf.

I planned on going the distance with my Pixel 4a 5G, but it went swimming with me two years ago, and that was that. 😆

Amazing photo!!!

@[email protected]

Honestly, Linux is pretty far into the "it just works" category nowadays, but if you'd prefer a more unixy experience, and don't mind a daily supplement of RTFM (😄), the BSDs are pretty great.

I'm still a n00b (always a n00b, but that's ok!), but here's kind of how I see them:

FreeBSD: Very full-featured, ZFS by default, which is amazing, has the most (monetary) support, tends to support newer hardware the best. Requires some RTFM to get a GUI (but this is changing soon). Easy-to-use TUI installer
OpenBSD: Very secure, somewhat minimalist mindset, tends to work well on hardware it supports, lacking a modern filesystem (UFS/FFS only). Gives you a basic X11 GUI out of the box. Relatively easy-to-use prompt/script-based installer. Forked from NetBSD in the 90s
NetBSD: Supports architectures you've completely forgotten about. "Of course it runs NetBSD." A very portable/standard base for development (very standard unixy/bsd-y things, not as eccentric). Ask around before buying hardware to make sure it's well-supported. Needs more funding (I hope to contribute a little next year, if things go well). Includes things (like ZFS, bluetooth, FFS "softdeps") that OpenBSD has jettisoned or avoided for maintainability reasons. Lead dev is active on Fedi, and helpful. Lacks full-disk encryption.
DragonflyBSD: Haven't tried this one yet. It was forked from FreeBSD in the 2000s, and has its own modern filesystem called HAMMER2.
GhostBSD: a desktop-oriented FreeBSD "distro" with a graphical installer. Wasn't able to get it working the last time I tried it
NomadBSD: a desktop-oriented FreeBSD "distro" that runs from a persistent USB, or can be installed. Worked decently well for me when I tried it

I mostly run FreeBSD, Linux, and OpenBSD.

Holler any time I can be of assistance.

Cheers, and happy holidays!

I relate. :)

What's going on, bud?

You have to decide if freedom is more important to you than convenience or paper-thin aesthetics.

That's really just about it.

Sorry if I'm not putting it super tactfully. I was a fanboy in my day, but it was a lot easier to be an Apple fanboy in 1989 or 2009 than today, now that they're just an overrated, overpriced, overhyped fashion brand with fascist leanings.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you don't have any experience running a free(dom) OS on your computer(s), then I can recommend something like Fedora or MX Linux as a great starting point, although I'm partial to #Debian. Getting FreeBSD going takes a little bit of work, although I wouldn't call it particularly hard. It's just some #RTFM :)

Again, I don't mean to be belligerent or demeaning. I'm just a bit further along on my journey and I have a hard time hiding my disdain for Apple anymore. I was a huge Apple fan for most of my life, so it's definitely a love-to-hate kinda thing. The mystical wave function of Apple's hype machine collapsed after dazzling my eyes for 30 years, and all I was left with was a solitary particle of bullcrap. XD

Pleases feel free to holler if you need any help or suggestions. I'm here for it. :)

It would seem not! 😂

Wednesday morning checklist

✅ Rainy morning
✅ tasty beverage
✅ Fluffy muffin

10/10

I'm so sorry, bud. '25 has been a rough year!

Mourning my mom and grandma this year, as well as my cat from two years ago still, somehow.
No gifts around the Christmas tree right now, but that's ok.

Hope you have friends or family even by video chat to warm your countenance today.

❤️

It's doable!!!

Any tips for improving color fidelity when #printing using #cups on #Linux? I use a #Brother printer (of course), and usually only print B&W, but I have a need to print color flyers and my greens look blue. I don't expect perfect output on this (my model isn't made for that), but I expect better than this.
Yes, my Yellow ink is on the low side, but it hasn't run out.

Please #boost !

It's just a firefox theme that uses the same background graphic as IE3. Pretty nice, actually:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/classic-ie3-rings-original-bg/

There are times I enable the IE3 "rings" theme on firefox, just for old times sake. ;)

I'm jelly, the X260 I'm typing this on has neither a ThinkLight, nor a backlight.

COME ON, LENOVO!!! 🤣

https://old.reddit.com/ is actually somewhat usable with dillo.

I think the best approach to surviving the current webpocalypse is to just forget about having "one browser to rule them all."

Take a multi-vectored approach:

• Use a terminal browser like w3m, links, lynx, or chawan when doing some quick-and-dirty lookups, or when you don't feel like faffing about with a mouse at all
• Use #Dillo for blogs, #smolweb sites, and sites that you don't want eating your cpu if you load them in a full browser
• Optionally use #NetSurf for the few sites you know work better with it
• Use #Firefox with your own custom settings or a fork like #LibreWolf for things that really require full JS and that kind of thing
• Use a Blink-based browser like #Falkon or #UnGoogledChromium for the rare cases where a website just doesn't like firefox

Here's a link to a toot where I discovered how to tweak the colors in dillo to be a bit more contrasty:
https://polymaths.social/@rl_dane/statuses/01K3YBWR5XE7N781P9F7432VP7

Here's a link to a toot with my keysrc file for more keyboard-friendly navigation (a little like qutebrowser or luakit, but only a little so far):
https://polymaths.social/@rl_dane/statuses/01K3EQQ78KJG4E07KP74Y6Q0VE

I also have firefox settings to disable AI available upon request. It's a bit of a faff to get it set up the first time, but then you're golden (for now ;)

💗