Notes - tech

◉ 01 Aug 2025 @ 09:08:04

░▒▓ Having flashbacks to “simpler” times when Extended ASCII was used for just about everything—and yes, that included ASCII art ░▒▓

random tech

◉ 31 Jul 2025 @ 17:24:12

While on the topic of LLMs, I can’t stand “thinking” models. It is possible to set think to false on the CLI in Ollama for thinking models, but I haven’t found a way to set it as a variable. Their newly released application doesn’t have such feature. Granted, only DeepSeek and Qwen models are “thinkers”, so perhaps I will stop using them.

llm tech

◉ 31 Jul 2025 @ 17:18:33

Providing an LLM a streamlined, but overall complete initial prompt is vital not to get perplexing answers. It will also greatly diminish the possibility of having the model astraying away, diluting the results. Though I believe this applies to all models, SaaS or local, it is specifically important when using local models, as processing and memory are more finite.

llm tech

🛠️ 31 Jul 2025 @ 15:40:33

I have added the ability to use emoji as a note marker. For example, this one has a hammer and wrench emoji. It’s simply an entry on the front matter of the note. I will not abuse it, but I think it is going to be useful. If ends up not to be, removing it will be pretty simple, thanks to sed.

hugo tech

◉ 31 Jul 2025 @ 13:31:23

To speed up browsing on Chrome—yes, only available on Chrome at the moment—simply add these lines somewhere between your website’s <head>. Allegedly it provides “a near-instant loading experience”.

<script type="speculationrules">
  {
    "prerender": [{ "where": { "href_matches": "/*" }, "eagerness": "moderate" }],
    "prefetch": [{ "where": { "href_matches": "/*" }, "eagerness": "moderate" }]
  }
</script>

➝ Via Hacker News.

html tech

◉ 30 Jul 2025 @ 08:10:20

Came across a static site (like this one) using Webmention, and got reminded of Pingback and TrackBack. There are also comments which are, arguably, more direct. I want none of it.

staticgen tech

◉ 17 Jul 2025 @ 20:23:23

It has been over a month since Google revamped Snapseed and, though I am fine with the changes—many people aren’t—I am getting a bit tired of seeing updates almost every week, with no changes on the changelog; that is, the changelog has been the same since it was revamped.

You might notice some new things sprouting around here. Not only did we freshen up the app to help make editing a breeze, but we also swat away some pesky bugs for a smoother experience. Oh, and remember to give the new film filters a try for some sweet, vintage looks. As always, these are free of charge.

Yes, we know, now, quit it! Geez!

google tech

◉ 17 Jul 2025 @ 15:29:23

Hashing known_hosts is a good idea, as it reduces the amount of information an attacker will collect, if/when (ha!) your machine gets compromised. Usually, a line on the known_hosts file looks like this:

less ~/.ssh/known_hosts
...
tilde.team ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAID1zw6+VOW8L4Rr3swbUVju3GGcknaV/fyhSJwH7NLfu
...

After running ssh-keygen -H it will look like this:

less ~/.ssh/known_hosts
...
|1|c6NiIH06AidrkPUman0oPEx6+6Y=|rPhYjXlkLgYaNR8jwaNMy7mur4I= ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIJsJP1XDyRhEPdtgBeXYm2hf4GKG9aLlqA1+ZPgBadbl
...

That’s it! Oh, and don’t forget to add to your ~/.ssh/config the following, so that future entries are hashed as well:

Host *
	HashKnownHosts yes

tech unix

◉ 15 Jul 2025 @ 13:13:25

Started using Zen web browser at work, because Google, in their infinite wisdom, decided to deprecate a ton of widely used extensions from Chrome. So far Zen is doing its thing, and doing it well.

google tech

◉ 11 Jul 2025 @ 08:55:43

Musk has confirmed that its Grok AI (version 4) is coming to Teslas “next week at the latest”. I don’t want it. I wouldn’t want Musk in my car, neither.

llm tech tesla

◉ 10 Jul 2025 @ 11:13:58

Because I work using Ubuntu, and do personal stuff using macOS, I am always confused and going nuts with keyboard shortcuts. From copying and pasting, to closing windows, to locking the machines. So. Very. Hard! I need to find a solution that will make Ubuntu (Gnome, actually) mimic macOS keyboard shortcuts.

tech

◉ 10 Jul 2025 @ 08:58:38

It looks like Grok (Musk’s own LLM and chatbot) is doing “great”. It seems that Musk, just like the Biblical god, is molding it to his own image. That will end up well, I am sure.

llm tech

◉ 09 Jul 2025 @ 17:42:28

grep -i passwd *.log | awk {'print $7'}
...
/etc/passwd
/..%5c..%5c..%5c..%5c..%5cetc%5cpasswd
/....//....//....//etc/passwd
/..%2f..%2f..%2fetc%2fpasswd
/.htpasswd
/config/.htpasswd
/.env.passwd
/backup/.htpasswd
...

With almost 2,000 different tries—of which the above is a small sample—it seems someone is hell-bent on finding a passwd of some sorts. I don’t have one, OK?!

tech unix

◉ 03 Jul 2025 @ 10:52:42

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.

tech tubes

◉ 02 Jul 2025 @ 13:52:27

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! 😂

horsie selfhost tech

◉ 02 Jul 2025 @ 13:22:11

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.

hugo tech

◉ 27 Jun 2025 @ 12:17:15

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.

random tech

◉ 25 Jun 2025 @ 19:58:06

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.

tech

◉ 25 Jun 2025 @ 12:41:38

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>.

rants tech

◉ 24 Jun 2025 @ 17:43:47

Tesla “Robotaxi” – Reuters.

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! 😅

friends george tech tesla

◉ 24 Jun 2025 @ 17:34:12

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. 😩

hugo tech

◉ 21 Jun 2025 @ 22:03:51

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?

rants tech

◉ 20 Jun 2025 @ 20:46:30

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

hugo tech

◉ 20 Jun 2025 @ 16:10:01

Mark, Bill, Linus, and David. Via Mark’s LinkedIn.

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?

tech tubes

◉ 19 Jun 2025 @ 20:18:04

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.

tech thoughts

◉ 18 Jun 2025 @ 18:59:26

I have not mentioned Headscale before, even though I use it every day. I have my iPhone (on demand), my Mac, my Linux laptop (on demand), and my two VPS connected to it. Headscale is an open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server. You can use the Tailscale client—which is available for all platforms—to connect to it. It is amazing, and worthy—at the very minimum—of a star on its GitHub repository.

selfhost tech tubes

◉ 18 Jun 2025 @ 14:33:19

A simple test, using verses—in modified format—from Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer’s poem, “¿Qué es poesía?” I may delete this note, as it is only a test. Yes, like many, many others, I “test in production”. 😅

Tú:
¿Qué es poesía?, dices mientras clavas en mi pupila tu pupila azul.
Yo:
¿Qué es poesía? ¿Y tú me lo preguntas? Poesía… eres tú.

tech

◉ 18 Jun 2025 @ 07:10:07

There shouldn’t be “do-not-reply” email “addresses” (between quotes, because if they can’t be replied to, they aren’t email addresses). If an email goes out, and it’s delivered to someone, or something, it should—must—be replyable. Unattended mailbox my foot. Don’t do that!

rants tech

◉ 17 Jun 2025 @ 20:42:47

I am trying to implement a workflow, so that I can use a graphical editor for creating new notes while in front of the computer, that is, not over an SSH connection. Let’s see how it goes.

Update: 02 Oct 2025 @ 16:49:20

Yup, it works quite well. I really don’t know why it took me this long to implement something as simple as this (I am using Obsidian now to create and edit notes if not over SSH). I guess I usually create notes on Terminal, on Bash, and didn’t have the need for anything else. Until now!

hugo tech

◉ 12 Jun 2025 @ 21:47:45

I couldn’t believe my eyes when an update notification popped up today for Snapseed and, imagine my surprise when I saw the total refresh it received. Snapseed is a unique delightful aberration, a glitch in the matrix. Acquired by Google in 2012, it is the only app I know that Google has kept alive, and standalone (that’s, not incorporated into another), and updated.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that it is an amazing app.

google tech

◉ 11 Jun 2025 @ 16:29:12

I know it is way early, but in preparation for macOS 26 I have now removed Raycast, and will soon remove Maccy. Who knows what else I will be able to remove when 26 comes. I really can’t help it.

apple tech

◉ 10 Jun 2025 @ 18:59:42

Alphabet felt like they were been left behind, so they had to do something, me thinks.

“This is the earliest Android has launched a major release in the last few years, which ensures you get the latest updates as soon as possible on your devices.”

Hmm, right. I wonder why? 😂

google tech

◉ 04 Jun 2025 @ 12:56:52

Chrome has gone nuts. Because of this note, which has two sentences in French, Chrome is prompting me whether or not I want to translate the page—not just that note!—to English. Wait until AI makes it in. Oy.

google tech

◉ 03 Jun 2025 @ 18:24:36

Today I learned that Chrome doesn’t play MOV video files. It only likes MP4, and WebM. I discovered it when looking at the note on WWDC (now an MP4), and seeing it blank. I figure MP4/WebM are smaller in size, so it doesn’t hurt using that format instead.

google tech

◉ 29 May 2025 @ 20:49:00

It is true humans can bet on just about anything. With Jesus, the rules are simple:

“This market will resolve to “Yes” if The Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurs by December 31, 2025, 11:59 PM ET. Otherwise, this market will resolve to “No”.”

Also, TIL about Polymarket, which I am finding quite interesting. It is pretty much gambling, isn’t it? Hmm.

finances tech

◉ 28 May 2025 @ 15:16:00

Using URL shortening was never a good idea. I ran my own, and it bit me really bad when I lost its backend database and with it all the shortlinks. Using Google URL shortening service—or anything Google, but I digress—was/is an even worse idea. I know, I used them too.

First they sunset Goo.gl, while stating that “all existing links will continue to redirect to the intended destination”. Then, they “transitioned” that statement to “we will be turning off Google URL Shortener”, which will finally happen comes 25 August, 2025. Lovely.

google tech

◉ 27 May 2025 @ 19:02:00

I have found myself on Nicholas’ “shoes” in quite a few occasions. Those occasions on which Hugo has changed its codebase around, and things that used to work worked no longer. I have been tempted to switch, but then what? Grass is always greener on the other side, and what brought me to it (the other side, that is) will not be the last. Time and again I ended up going to Hugo’s community, and each time I found the fix I needed.

It is my very personal opinion that nothing beats Hugo when it comes to simplicity. Nothing extra to install, just a single binary. Beyond its simplicity, it’s extremely powerful.

hugo tech

◉ 27 May 2025 @ 17:44:29

Apple’s Lisa 2 computer.

Apple’s Lisa 2 computer. I know it is old, I know it is retro. My old eyes will certainly complain at the screen size and resolution, but damn, such a beautiful machine, and keyboard design! Yup, I am certainly on “boomer’s” mood.

apple tech

◉ 27 May 2025 @ 17:21:17

I miss terminal based applications. Old database driven applications that were usually accessed via VT100 terminals, and later on via IBM 3270, or emulated software, like TN3270, to access IBM mainframes. I wonder if they will ever make a return (no mainframes needed this time, of course).

Hmm, is this a sign of crossing—or having crossed—a certain age threshold?

tech unix

◉ 27 May 2025 @ 10:37:50

The trend for application developers to make each and every single app a subscription based one is a complete show stopper for me. If I want, or need the app, I will buy it. I will, of course, pay for upgrades on every major iOS version too, maybe? Otherwise, I am sure to find ways not to want, nor need it.

rants tech