> Notes...

Is it a sign of age using commas? Is it a sign of age using proper capitalisation, and periods ending a sentence? Each time I interact using a text-based medium with anyone younger—with very rare exceptions—I am reminded of having grown older. 😅

Learning how to fly, just like birds do, it’s quite easy. But don’t take my words for it, read it all by yourself—the illustrated version is awesome! I am talking—if you haven’t followed the previous links—about “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.

There is an art, it says, or rather a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, it suggests, and try it. The first part is easy.

All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it’s going to hurt. That is, it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground.

Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard.

Our manager just told us that he will be leaving the team 1 August 2025. We knew he was leaving, just didn’t know when. Now we know, and we wished him well. Onto the search for our fifth and—final?—manager we go!

Apparently using em dashes is proof that a tool (AI, for example), was used to write things instead. As someone who likes to use en dashes, em dashes, and dashes, who uses macOS/iOS, I find that simply amusing. Pff, as if!

To create these notes I use Hugo, and Markdown, so generating them is as easy as using -, --, and ---.

At the risk of being labeled a boomer—something kids already do, anyway—I have to say that the music from the 80s and 90s beats the one from the 2000s, and the 2010s, so far. It reminds me what my mum and dad used to say about the music of their time. Every generation, pretty much the same.

So far a lazy day today. No work (happy 4th!), so woke up at a luxurious 06:30 hours. Had coffee with mum, got coffee for Horsie, played a bit of Diablo IV (manning a Spiritborn this season), went to return some clothes, bought bánh mì, took some to mum, some to aunties, and now back home. All that, and is barely 14:30. Rain’s coming, which will make today even a better day. Couch bound!

It has been almost 14 years since Mark Pilgrim disappeared akin to what has been described as an “infosuicide”. I still miss his writings, and hold the hope that he may, one day, come back. I hope and wish all is well with him, and family.

At the end of every episode of “The Big Bang Theory” (★★★★★) they used to show a Chuck Lorre Productions “card”. This one was my all-time favourite:

The Prophet
A young woman stepped forward from the throng and asked, “O’ great prophet, tell us how we might find love that is unconditional, unwavering and unending.” The prophet did not answer right away. He looked off into the distance, gathering his thoughts. Silence descended upon the crowd. Then he turned his gaze upon the young woman and said, “Get a dog.”

I wish everyone was like mum, when it comes to be on guard, and suspicious, about everything Internet. I have given her the cookie-cutter talk about Internet security, in simple terms, but I have always told her, “If you have any doubts, you can always call me, and I will come to help you.” And she sure does! At least once every couple of weeks I get such call, or message. Today was one of those days.

As a bonus I get fed as well. I am not sure if ever mentioned it, but mum’s cooking is second only to partner’s. Of course, I tell each the same. They really are both wonderful.

I don’t think I have noted about this before, it doesn’t come up on the few searches I have run. I have been procrastinating a move to a newer VPS. This one has been running since Ubuntu 16.04, and it is now at 22.04. It is running out of space, and I truly need to replace it. Hmm…

I figure the only way to get me moving is by renting the new server, and then having to worry about paying double expenses. Then my partner will make sure I do something about it! 😂

I am starting to wonder if 17 pixels is a tad too small of a font size for these notes. Under macOS the font size looks fairly legible, but under Ubuntu it seems a tad too small. I will need to check, and make sure screen resolution is the same for both, before doing any further fiddling.

Update: 03 Oct 2025 @ 21:08:04

My main mistake is to use pixels for font sizes. This evening I will be changing them all to use rem/em instead. Still, everything will look smaller at higher resolutions.

Found SecretDrop.io, and its corresponding GitHub repository, which I find useful enough to be considering to selfhost. I would like the interface to be less flashy, and minimal (the FAQ, for example, is way too verbose for my liking). Maybe I can change that a little.

According to kid, “Squid Game” season 3 is pretty much the same as it was on season 2, which was pretty much the same as it was on season 1. Whether that’s accurate or not, he isn’t interested on watching it. That could mean I will not watch it either, as he usually is my binging buddy.

I am feeling a very strong urge to practice Zen Buddhism.

“Zen begins with an understanding that human beings suffer, and it offers a solution to this suffering through recognizing the interconnectedness of all beings and learning to live in a way that aligns with this truth.”

Today is one of those few—but they exist, as evidenced—days I feel disappointed, and despaired. Not a good feeling.

The US attack on Iran was not only reckless, but it accomplished next to nothing, and it cost quite a bit. “Mission Accomplished”. 🙄

Update: 02 Oct 2025 @ 07:33:49

It just occurred to me—because “Mission Accomplished” came to mind—that similarly we accomplished on Iraq: nothing. Iraqis, on the other hand, are arguably worse.

Can’t wait to enjoy that extremely delightful—and nutritious—pumpkin soup that Horsie is cooking. I minced the garlic, and chopped the onions, and peeled the pumpkin, so we can say it’s a team effort, right? I will also eat it with pleasure! After all, what’s good food without a consumer? 🤭

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” is an abomination, and it will cause so much debt and harm to the country that its effects will be felt for generations (specifically and specially from middle and low income class) to come.

I tried to give Diablo Immortal a fair try again, but can’t handle the amount of “red dots” on the screen—that is, notifications overflow trying to sell you things, or making you complete stuff in-game. It never stops! Deleted, 21.7GiB of storage reclaimed.

Coffee at 07:30. Three small croissants around 11:00. Chicken and sausage gumbo soup bowl at 13:30. Three small chicken quesadillas at 16:30. I have eaten way too much, I feel. No more food for me today!

We long thought T-Rexes were extinct. Imagine our surprise, and utter panic, when we found this one laying on the parking lot next to our car. Lucky for us they were a friendly one, so after exchanging pleasantries we left them on the grass—which is much closer to their natural habitat.

Based on everything I have read, Diablo IV season 9 is going to be a flunk (it could be a player base over-reaction). I would happily play Diablo III instead if it weren’t for the Battle.net application, which requires Rosetta 2. I don’t want to run anything legacy.

After the Republican party proposed a reconciliation package that will slash the Medicaid program, Mitch gave a short speech, “I know a lot of us are hearing from people back home about Medicaid. But they’ll get over it.”

What to eat tonight? During the week I only have one meal a day. Sometimes, come evening, I really don’t feel like eating anything at all. Now Fridays, ah! Fridays are something else.

Fridays are just… different, just like Saturdays and Sundays. There are no other days like those. Mondays through Thursdays, they are all the same. You could put me in a hole for a few days, and make me forget which day of the week it was, then let me out. It will take me very little to figure out, with a high level of certainty, whether it’s a weekend or not.

Anyways, I digress. Macaroni and cheese with bacon bits? Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

Update: 02 Oct 2025 @ 13:48:09

So much for macaroni and cheese with bacons bits. We—child and I—ended up having Pizza Hut (pepperoni thin and crispy). I think that the half of a pizza I ate is healthier than what I had planned. A win? 😅

It is raining. You would think, “so what?”, right? Well, it hasn’t rained like this, and at all, for over a week. When your weather is super hot, and super humid, and everything around you seems to crack, and almost die from heat exhaustion, then more often than not you long for rain—at least I do, though, truth be told, I truly am a rain Monkey. Love, love the rain!

I am not into rap, yo, but Rico Nasty’s Tiny Desk concert was truly lovely. I mean, not just her execution, but the artist herself. Me like! What is there not to, right?

Mind it, as with most rap, explicit language.

“Don’t let the words, and actions of others cloud your weekend, mate!” – I say to myself. It is hard to do, but “the weekend is ours”. I will not let them take it from me.

Now that the Supreme Court has given an edge to the current regime in their intent to kill birthright citizenship, is more important than ever to remember how it came to be.

“For us as a nation, birthright citizenship is so vital both as a way of erasing—or trying to erase—the vestiges of slavery and acknowledging we’re a nation of immigrants where every child is born under the same status.”

A Félix María Serafín Sánchez de Samaniego flable, “La serpiente y la lima”, losely translated from Spanish, while aiming to keep the original rythm.

A locksmith’s home, so they say, the Serpent slithered in one day. And foolishly, it bit with might, a steel File, sharp and bright.

“Fool!” the File then did proclaim, “The harm will be your game! How dare you try to make a dent in me, who turns hard metal into dust, you see?”

Whoever tries without good cause, to bring the stronger down, and pause, will only manage, in their plight, to kick against a goad with all their might.

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!