> Notes...

I want to inform you about a very bad situation for you. However, you can benefit from it, if you will act wisely. Have you heard of Pegasus? This is a spyware program that installs on computers and smartphones and allows hackers to monitor the activity of device owners. It provides access to your webcam, messengers, emails, call records, etc. It works well on Android, iOS, and Windows. I guess, you already figured out where I’m getting at.

These people watching all my moves, specifically when I engage in activities related to “highly controversial porn videos”, recording all my actions with their “spyware program”, learning “about all aspects of [my] private life”, and concluding that I have a “sick perversion” are getting it all wrong. Instead of demanding BTC from me they should, instead, be paying me for all the entertainment I sure am bringing them.

Microsoft’s “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD) is sunsetting in the near future. Soon it will change colours to become the “Black Screen of Death” (BSOD). Get it? LOL.

“The simplified BSOD looks a lot more like the black screen you’d see during a Windows update. But it will list the stop code and faulty system driver that you wouldn’t always see during a crash dump.”

I dont think the change is enough. The message should be something more substantial, specific, and clear.

At the end of 2024, Moo Deng was a cutie, admired by millions around the world. I mean, how could we not, right? She was, and remains, a very famous pygmy hippopotamus! 🥰🦛

I slightly changed the 404 page around here. It used to be Bernie, but he messaged and told me he was tired of it, and was quitting. So, I hired some birds. Just type some rubbish at the address bar after https://netbros.com/ and you will see.

Freepik has lots of AI in it, amongst other things. The site looks crafted with good taste, it is clean, and fast, and has freebies that could come handy. This isn’t an advert, of course; merely a note to myself reminding me it exists, in case it’s ever needed.

Even as we are us, for our entire existence, we change. For better, or for worse, we change. I found myself disagreeing with myself, or realising I no longer think the same way, while going over some of my old blog entries. Because of that I decided to add a disclaimer to some entries that reads:

Disclaimer:
This post is an old one. Overtime, my perspectives evolve, and it may not reflect my current thinking, political affiliation, or position on the topic(s) at hand.

It is not so much that I care what a stranger may think of me because of what I wrote (which I do!), but more for myself. I will not delete the post, but the least I can do is to note that its contents may no longer apply.

Project Indigo is a pretty neat camera. As a “toy”, it is something I have installed, and probably use to compare photos from time to time. Yet, installing apps that duplicate features available out of the box on iOS/macOS is something I do not like to do.

Blizzard is bringing the druid class to Diablo Immortal (the “pay-to-win” mobile game), and just like that it got me to download the game again. I don’t think I will stick, nor spend a penny on it, but I think it will amuse me for a little.

I swear, each time I see written Polish or Czech, specially when all in lower case, I think of a Caesar cipher.

Really wishing more services on Ubuntu were made in Golang, or good old C/C++. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike Python, and it certainly is widely used, multiplatform, etc., etc. Now having almost everything Python comes across as sheer laziness. That’s it. Ubuntu, and Python </rant>.

That feeling of deep shame many Americans are feeling, and the constant urge to apologise for the actions of our government. Never before, since becoming an American, I have felt like this. Truly, truly, truly sorry!

Re: Blue #1748261181

To Americans: forget about any embarrassment or shame when looking up Philippine history and stuff before y’all got here. The Filipino mindset is all about letting go of social barriers in order to be nourished by someone else’s cooking.

For reasons I can’t fully explain, this thought makes me feel at ease, and welcomed. It also carries a witty truth. A good food is a good food, and a door opener!

Re: Claudrod #1750847378

I REMEMBER Looking out a large window with an interesting view, with 2 men facing away from my side. One of them walks away, another stays in place, standing still. A few seconds later, I realize he was peeing.

Oh my god!! A room with a view or, shall I say, a room with views? 😅

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 is over now. I found the last episode to be lack luster, and rather disappointing, but the series in general is pretty stupendous. Kid told me season 3 is in the works, so I can’t wait! Meanwhile… what to watch next?

Tesla launched its Robotaxi—which isn’t the Robotaxi, but a Tesla with a Robotaxi logo—service in Texas. There are just a few, all operating in a small section of the city, and with “a human safety operator in the passenger seat”. LOL. So, just a taxi.

“As expected, only a handful of vehicles are available right now, they only operate in a small part of the city and there’s a safety driver in the vehicle in case it encounters situations it cannot handle autonomously.”

A real Robotaxi should have no glass windshield, and a blocking divider between the passenger area and the “driver”. After all, it is best not to see what’s coming your way. Surprise! 😅

Read more...

I have automated the process that adds a notice and timestamp when I edit a note, when adding more content to it at a later time. It works great, as it uses the git lastmod timestamp. The unfortunate side effect was, all timestamps got reset because I actually modified all notes that had an UPDATE notice. 😩

The amount of plastic in a lot of everyday things that we eat is staggering. I am freaking out, even though the site one-time banner disclaimer made me click a “Got it, I promise not to freak out” button.

➝ Via Hacker News.

There is misery in the world; there is suffering, there is hunger, there is abuse. We do unimaginable things to ourselves and to others. As individuals, we can’t help everyone, but picking a cause to support—just one!—will go a long way. Truly, every little bit counts.

We deliver life-saving aid and protection in emergencies, advocate for improved asylum laws and systems so displaced people can access their rights, and help find long-term solutions so they can return home once safe to do so or build a future in a new country. We also work to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality so they can access basic rights, such as education and health care.

I have noted about this before for causes I have contributed. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, is one I would recommend wholeheartedly.

I used to keep bookmarks for the boy, keeping resources I thought might be useful for him to be used on school assignments, etc. Reviewing them today I found this gem from 2016. So much has changed since! Prices, for sure, and some of the things we eat, maybe? Notice how much healthier the food from some poorer countries is, in comparison to, say, the US.

Check out also “Rise and Shine”, to see what kids around the world eat for breakfast (from 2014).

I am having an “existential” dilemma here. First, I have some titles been mentioned in notes (movies, or books, or similar) between double quotes, while some others do not have it. I don’t like that inconsistency. Second, I don’t know which style to pick, and adhere to from now on—which will be the same style I will use to change others retroactively as well. Should I always use double quotes? Should I italise them instead, no double quotes?

See the silly things I drown myself with?

I downloaded, installed, and gave a try yesternight to “Final Fantasy XIV” (the free trial) and, after a brief 5-10 minutes playtime, I don’t think it’s the game for me. I don’t like the way controls work with it on PS5. It comes across as a game developed for desktop computers, and later ported to console. It is confussing and rather clunky. So, still waiting for a special on “No Man’s Sky” to return. Meanwhile, there is “Diablo IV”.

Why would Microsoft offer releases of their Edit CLI editor for Linux, and compress them using zstd? What’s wrong with tar.gz? Why the added complication? What is there to gain?

“President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. military has conducted targeted airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, calling the operation ‘very successful.’”

Oh dear! So it begins. A day or two ago he said he would decide in two weeks. Of course, this man knows no truth. One step closer.

Update: 03 Oct 2025 @ 21:31:16

I do remember 2024. The now Liar-in-Chief then said, lying as always, to the American people in Michigan:

“If Kamala wins, only death and destruction await because she is the candidate of endless wars. I am the candidate of peace,” Trump continued. “I am peace.”

Getting lost on the interweb is my newly found hobby, and the reason I have gotten so fond of blogrolls, and webrings. It is amazing what you can find while aimlessly following links that happen to catch your attention—or simply clicking/tapping, daring to see what’s on the other side. For each rubbish site out there that we should avoid, there are 10 others wholesomely worth it. I am specially fond of minimalist, text only websites, and those who use exquisite typography.

Thomas Dambo’s trolls—and his other creations—come across as other-worldly. His entire works collection is simply too amazing not to note. Makes me wish there were more trolls in our world, don’t you agree? Kind of “have trolls, no war”.

Today, which is coming to an end in roughly three hours, is the Summer Solstice for the Northern hemisphere—where I happen, for better or for worse, to be situated. That means today was the longest day of the year for us. Oh, but still runs at 24 hours, take it or leave it, so, yeah, not really that much meaningful anyway. 🎶 “It comes and goes, it comes and goooooes!” 🎶

This bash code is what I use to count the amount of notes per year, ever since I started babbling in here. I first move to the content/posts/ directory, then run it. It works great under macOS.

for file in *.md; do \
    head -n 5 "$file" | \
    grep 'date:' | \
    sed 's/date.*\([[:digit:]]\{4\}\).*/\1/' >> count; \
done && \
cat count | sort | uniq -c && \
rm count

Like millions of people—if not billions—I don’t want this conflict to go nuclear. I am sure you know what I am referring to. Hiroshima and Nagasaki never again. Are we that stupid as not to learn from past mistakes? Are we going to let scumbags drag humankind down a nuclear holocaust?

Well, this is something you don’t see everyday day, from left to right: Mark Russinovich, Bill Gates, Linus Torvalds, and David Cutler. Bill and Linus meeting in person, and making it to the same photo. Yeah, a first?

After more than two weeks without a drop, we are finally getting a very well deserved rain, and the plants, lawn, birds, me… we are all happier because of it. To those about to drive, or on the roads, my deepest, sincere, condolences.

Twenty seven years is a long time, don’t you think? Yet I look back and wonder, where did the time go? Really! With ups and downs, but no regrets, I love you, Horsie! —Signed, “Conniving” Monkey.

One hundred percent, Claudine! In my head, and in my actions, I am more often than not the same kid I remember myself to be. “Youthfulness” is a construct of our minds. Yes, we age mechanically, but that shouldn’t change anything else. Specially because society expects us to behave in a “certain way”, due to age. Pfff!

A satire filled article on how the author will do “anything to end homelessness except build more homes”. I mean, will it ever end?! The repercussions would be disastrous! 😂

“Look, if you give people homes, the next thing you know, they’re going to start to get their lives together and then get jobs and start organizing. Then they’ll expand Medicare to everyone and build a fucking light rail line instead of a goddamn border wall, and no one will drive anymore, and cars will die out, and the air will get clean, and can you imagine the problems we’ll have then?”

➝ Via Hacker News.

Today is Juneteenth, and this is the first time I mention it on my notes, I think. It is meant to be the day to commemorate the end of slavery in the US. No wonder the Racist-Ignoramous-in-Chief made no mention of it.

Update: 03 Oct 2025 @ 21:36:24

Well, he actually wrote something, without directly mentioning Juneteenth, on his own social media—which exists solely and almost exclusively for him, pretty much.

“Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don’t want it either! Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

It never ends.

Around 2002, and for a brief period, I kept a small weblog all handcrafted. Each page was created manually; I copied and pasted quite a bit, and I would make each page have its own uniqueness. I don’t know why I felt nostalgic thinking about it.

I write these notes not expecting interaction. I do it for fun, more often than not to amuse myself. Yet, even as I admit that what I jot here is for my own, it is similar to writing a message in a bottle. The hope (aim?) is that someone will eventually find it, and do with it as they please. 😅😂

“Oh, a horse with a horn is called a unicorn/A horse with stripes is called a zebra/A horse with wings is called Pegasus/And a horse with a broken leg is called glue.”

Poor broken leg horse. I shall not show this to Horsie, because it will make her sad, and even cry. She will know is a joke, but who jokes like that with “family”?

The Baroque period produced some of the greatest artists humankind has ever seen. I recently came across “The Abduction of Proserpina” on Kottke. Although I saw it with my own eyes, I couldn’t help but feeling, again, amazed and awestruck by the artist incredible skills that make this cold marble so lifelike.

All of these “appeasers” promissing changes to make the current regime look good. Make promises publicly, but never deliver them. A marketing scam. That’s what companies are doing today when they say they are bringing their manufacturing to the US, or investing $X to do it.

The people and the regime will forget, but should anyone remember they will make even more sweeter, unbelievable promises, and repeat the cycle.

What in the blankity blanket is this?! As sad as it is to say it, I hope no international students come while this regime is in power. The growing list of aggravations isn’t worth it.

“Foreign students will be required to unlock their social media profiles to allow US diplomats to review their online activity before receiving educational and exchange visas, the state department has announced. Those who fail to do so will be suspected of hiding that activity from US officials.”