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● 09.08.22

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● Links 08/09/2022: Qubes OS Summit and Free Software Directory Meetings

Posted in News Roundup at 3:44 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ The Linux Link Tech Show Episode 970

=> ↺ LHS Episode #480: The Great Baofeng Caper | Linux in the Ham Shack

• Hello and welcome to Episode #480 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this short-topics episode, the hosts discuss the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, smuggling handy talkies into New Zealand, Route 66 on the Air, some ins and outs of sudo, Organic Maps and much more. Thanks for listening and have a great week.

=> ↺ FLOSS Weekly 697: The Life of Brian – Brian Behlendorf on the Open Source Security Foundation, IPSF and More

• Doc Searls and Simon Phipps talk with Brian Behlendorf, one of the original authors of Apache, about his new gig at the Open Source Security Foundation, plus the many challenges of decentralization. As well as the challenges of getting governments to care about open source. Another great discussion on FLOSS Weekly.

=> ↺ E49: Momento, the World’s Fastest Cache

• Daniela Miao is Cofounder of Momento, the serverless cache that automatically optimizes, scales, and manages your cache for you. Momento works with open source caching engine Pelikan which was created at Twitter.

• Daniela is joined in this episode by Yao Yue, a Principal Software Engineer at Twitter who is a core part of Twitter’s Pelikan Caching team. Today, Momento provides a SaaS service on top of Pelikan in an Open Core model.

• In this episode, we discuss launching a company on top of an open source project started by a team outside of the founders, messaging and positioning for technical companies, team building, and much more!

=> ↺ Unity Is Becoming An Official Ubuntu Flavor!! – Invidious

• Even though Ubuntu and Canonical dropped Unity years ago it still has it’s fans and very shortly Ubuntu Unity is going to become an official flavor of Ubuntu, but the maintainer is the most interesting part.

Applications

=> ↺ Komikku: A Free and Open-Source Manga Reader for Linux – It’s FOSS

• Love reading comic books? There are plenty of comic book readers available for Linux.

• But what about something tailored for Japanese comic books (Manga)?

• I think I came across the perfect app suitable for reading Manga, organizing them, and downloading them for offline use as well. The app I discovered recently is called Kommiku.

• Let me mention the key highlights of this app and help you get started with it on Linux.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How to install Mugen 0.1.0 on a Chromebook

• Today we are looking at how to install Mugen 0.1.0 on a Chromebook. Please follow the video/audio guide as a tutorial where we explain the process step by step and use the commands below.

=> ↺ How to install the Brave Browser on Pop!_OS 22.04 – Invidious

• In this video, we are looking at how to install the Brave Browser on Pop!_OS 22.04.

=> ↺ Zellij: A Terminal Workspace to Super Charge Your Productivity – TREND OCEANS

• I’m wondering what terminal workspace you are using: tmux, screen, or terminator? Or you are not using any of them because of their complexity for beginners, although they are not that complicated.

• If you’re wondering why to use terminal workspace programs like tmux and screen, you might not be aware of the fact how much they can improve your productivity

=> ↺ How to Install Node.JS and NPM on Alpine Linux

• Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform Javascript runtime environment, which was built on Google’s V8 Engine and developed using C++, it is an asynchronous server-side scripting language that executes JavaScript outside a web browser to develop scalable network applications.

• It allows developers to build data-intensive and high-traffic backend applications such as chat apps and microservices. Notable companies that use Node.JS include GoDaddy, Netflix, Linked, Uber, PayPal, and Twitter just to mention a few.

=> ↺ How to check if your computer uses UEFI or BIOS

• There are novice users who do not always know well the computer to use. Or even when you want to support other computers that you don’t know, getting information about it is quite useful. That is why, today, you will learn how to check if your computer uses UEFI or BIOS.

• As we all know, UEFI is a firmware written in C, and it was created with the purpose of being a replacement for BIOS and to provide computers with a more modern way to access their most basic functions.

• It also provides other very interesting features, which make any PC a much more useful and faster device. Therefore, it is implemented by many motherboards nowadays.

• The detail is that on Linux the implementation took a little longer and at the beginning it was a bit more tortuous. Fortunately, it is a thing of the past. But it is always good to know if the system is in UEFI or BIOS.

• This is for technical support purposes and to know even more about the device you are using, especially when it is not your own.

=> ↺ How to check TDP (PL1 and PL2 power limits) in Windows and Linux – CNX Software

• A TDP (Thermal Design Power) value in Watts will usually be provided for Intel and AMD processors to help manufacturers design an appropriate thermal solution for a given processor, and it’s often used to estimate power consumption by consumers.

• But TDP is also often configurable, and manufacturers may decide to increase to decrease the value for higher performance or lower power consumption, so we’ll show you how to check the TDP value, or more exactly PL1 and PL2 power limits in both Windows 11 and Linux (Ubuntu 22.04). Note that TDP is being replaced by PBP (Processor Base Power) in newer processors, with PL1 (Long Duration) corresponding to BPB, and PL2 (Short Duration) to Maximum Turbo Power (MTP), at least on Intel chips.

Games

=> ↺ The 2K Megahits Bundle is a great looking deal

• 2K have plenty of good games under their belt and they have a new 2K Megahits Bundle with some top games and some classics included together. Going over each game I’ll list the Steam Deck Verified rating plus either Native Linux status or ProtonDB ranking so you’ve got the full picture.

=> ↺ Valve overhauls the Steam Store with new categories, hubs and filtering

• Previously available in Steam Labs, some of the biggest changes to the Steam Store in years are now live for everyone.

=> ↺ The Zachtronics Solitaire Collection is out now

• They will be missed and this is technically now actually their last game, with the The Zachtronics Solitaire Collection officially out now with Linux support.

=> ↺ Comedy point and lick adventure Nine Noir Lives is out now

• Take on the detective role in Nine Noir Lives, a new “point and lick” comedy adventure game out now. Created by Silvernode Games, a small indie team from South Africa and is their first major project.

=> ↺ Narrative adventure ‘I Was a Teenage Exocolonist’ out with Linux support

• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist seems like a hard game to pin to a genre. It’s a blending of a narrative adventure with RPG elements, deck-building and much more. It sure does look pretty too, love the colour scheme they went for on this one.

=> ↺ A new Steam Deck Beta fixes various bugs causing crashes

• Valve continues rolling out smaller updates to the Steam Deck Beta, with another update out now fixing some crashing issues. This update is available in the Steam Deck Beta and Preview channels, which you can opt into through Settings >System and then select either via Steam Update Channel.

Distributions and Operating Systems

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ Lilbits: Raspberry Pi OS updated, eero’s first routers reach end of life(ish), Sony mobile gaming accessories launching next week – Liliputing

• Of course, one way around this limited-lifespan problem moving forward is to buy a router that’s known to work with OpenWrt or other third-party, open source firmware. It takes a little more work to set up, but could keep your existing hardware useful for years to come.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ What Can I Do with My Raspberry Pi 3?

• There are a million ways to use Raspberry Pi 3 for different applications or projects as it is just like a computer. Although it is not a very powerful device as compared to the Pi 4, it can still be used for various projects. Moreover, for the people who want to get along with programming, especially Python and to learn how to use a Linux based system then the Raspberry Pi 3 is the best choice for them. So, if you are looking for types of interesting projects or devices that you can create using Raspberry Pi 3 and use them in your daily life then read this guide.

=> ↺ Capacitive Touch Sensor and Raspberry PI: TTP223 Wiring and Python Code

• Capacitive touch sensor (TTP223) and Raspberry PI can keep a touch input in order to make your program run only on user request. Differently from Switch Buttons, they are a bit more expensive, but they assure better reliability and accuracy

• This tutorial will show you how to use a capacitive touch sensor (TTP223) with Raspberry PI and Python.

=> ↺ Shape Shifting Computer, Powered by Convergence – Purism

• The Librem 5 is the first mobile computer with a truly convergent OS. Convergence means having the same OS across multiple hardware platforms with apps that adapt to their hardware. The Librem 5 uses the same convergent PureOS as our Librem 14 laptop and Mini PCs, with the same adaptive applications that make the Librem 5 more than merely a phone, it’s a mobile computer in your pocket that can shape shift into a laptop, tablet, desktop, or even a server.

=> ↺ What Are Advantages and Disadvantages of Arduino

• Arduino is an electronic platform with a diverse number of development boards available to communicate between real and programming worlds. It allows students, beginners, teachers, and engineers to design academic and real time projects to solve modern problems. Apart from Arduino’s vast scope it has some limitations also. Nothing is 100% perfect in this world! Like every electronic gadget Arduino has also some restrictions to work with.

• Arduino is designed to make the microcontroller world more accessible. It is based upon ATmega AVR microcontrollers. Arduino platforms consist of circuit boards like UNO, normally referring to microcontrollers and the development part known as IDE. Using IDE, Arduino boards can be programmed using C++ language.

=> ↺ What Programming Language Does Arduino Use

• Multiple programming languages are used to communicate between electronic devices. Programming languages are a precise way of communication between a machine and a programmer. Arduino is a platform that controls a microcontroller using a program. To write these programs a user-friendly language known as Arduino programming language is used.

=> ↺ How to Turn on Raspberry Pi After Shutdown?

• To turn on and off a device there are always some specific ways and the same is in the case of Raspberry Pi. Unfortunately, the one thing that is different in Raspberry Pi than a regular size computer is that it doesn’t come with a power button. To turn on Raspberry Pi you simply must plug in the power supply, and it will turn on. If you are interested to know about ways by which you can turn on the Raspberry Pi other than plugging in the Type-C port, then read this guide.

=> ↺ How to Power Raspberry Pi 4?

• Providing adequate power to the Raspberry Pi is necessary as it ensures its proper functionality. To power up a device there are multiple methods that can be used based on ease of the user. If you have recently bought a Raspberry Pi 4 and are wondering how to power it up effectively then read this guide as it will explain various ways to power up the Raspberry Pi 4.

=> ↺ How to Install GUI to Raspberry Pi OS Lite Version

• Although the Raspberry Pi does have a GUI version that you can install on your device quite easily from the Raspberry Pi Imager. However, it does include the lite version designed especially for users who only need to use the Raspberry Pi terminal. If you have already installed the Raspberry Pi OS lite version on your device and changed your mind about needing a GUI for your system. So, instead of installing the OS again, you can use the command-line tool to install a desktop environment according to your choice.

• In this article, we will show you how you can install GUI to your Raspberry Pi OS lite version so that you can perform your tasks with ease.

=> ↺ How to Power Multiple Raspberry Pi

• Powering your Raspberry Pi device with a suitable power supply is extremely important for increasing your performance efficiency. The reason is if the exact power isn’t provided to your device, it won’t be able to work efficiently and reduce your working speed on your device. The Raspberry Pi operates on 5V/3A provided through a C-Type port and works efficiently if the device gets the exact power supply. Although supplying the power to the Raspberry Pi device through your mobile charger may work in a few cases, it’s better to acquire an official charger for your device.

• Powering a single Raspberry Pi is pretty simple; however, if you want to work on multiple Raspberry Pi devices, you should need a high-capacity power supply option to power them up efficiently.

=> ↺ How to Use Raspberry Pi for Earning a Profit

• Raspberry Pi is a valuable device that opens various opportunities for users, from creating a personal web server to creating a home automation system. Although the device isn’t powerful enough to replace your desktop computer, it has an advantage over the expensive desktop environment that you can use this device as a source of earning through different methods.

• If you don’t know how you can make money with Raspberry Pi, follow our article, where we will provide you with several ways that you can try on your device to make the most out of it.

=> ↺ What Age is Raspberry Pi Suitable For?

• Raspberry Pi is a mini-computer board initially designed for teaching purposes; however, as time passed, it emerged as an efficient machine for projects like home automation, web servers, and more. This device is an ideal choice for people of all ages; however, due to its open circuit layout and the presence of GPIO pins, the user should need to use it carefully.

• Someone may not consider this device a kid toy because of its sensitivity and should not be given to kids who don’t know about it. There is an age limit for the kids to use this device for developing school projects, and this article is presented to inform you about the minimum age requirement for using this device.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Events

=> ↺ Qubes OS Summit: History from organizer’s perspective | Qubes OS

• The next Qubes OS Summit 2022 edition is upcoming. This year it will be held in Berlin from September 9th to 11th in hybrid format, in person and live-streamed for remote access. More details here. Don’t miss the event and more importantly how it started. In the article the history and organizer’s perspective of the event will be described.

FSF

=> ↺ Free Software Directory meeting on IRC: Friday, September 09, starting at 12:00 EDT (16:00 UTC)

=> ↺ Free Software Directory meeting on IRC: Friday, September 16, starting at 12:00 EDT (16:00 UTC)

=> ↺ Free Software Directory meeting on IRC: Friday, September 23, starting at 12:00 EDT (16:00 UTC)

=> ↺ Free Software Directory meeting on IRC: Friday, September 30, starting at 12:00 EDT (16:00 UTC)

Programming/Development

=> ↺ Smalltalk-72 Instruction Manual

• The Small talk system described here was designed in the summer of 1972 and first conversed haltingly with a user late that fall. It was released for more general use at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARe) in spring 1973 when the first “Interim Dynabook” (a name for the current working version of a small computer system) became available.

=> ↺ Why isn’t there more training on the edge?

• One of the most frequent questions I get asked from people exploring machine learning beyond cloud and desktop machines is “What about training?”. If you look around at the popular frameworks and use cases of edge ML, most of them seem focused on inference. It isn’t obvious why this is the case though, so I decided to collect my notes in a post here, so I can have something to refer to when this comes up (and organize my own thoughts too!).

=> ↺ Safety And Liveness Properties

• Each system has a set of behaviors, each behavior being a possible timeline of events and states. The system also has properties we want to be true. A correct system, then, is one where every behavior preserves every property.

=> ↺ Who is the author “JC Shakespeare”?

• Knowledge graphs are tricky beasts to create. Trying to extract semantic metadata from documents is a gargantuan task. Mix them together and you have a recipe for disaster.

• While yak-shaving for my MSc, I found an interesting looking research paper authored by one JC Shakespeare.

=> ↺ Redis GEODIST

• Redis starts supporting geospatial data types from version 3.2.0. This is one of the unique features that Redis offers over the other data stores. The geospatial data structure can hold coordinates of a given location. With the rich set of operations, it is possible to query locations and their coordinates based on different criteria.

=> ↺ Scala Boolean

• Boolean expressions are very well-known and widely used in different programming languages to perform different comparisons among different values. A Boolean expression can have only two values, i.e., true or false. You can modify your output messages or result according to their two values. Within the Scala programming language, you can use Boolean expressions in different statements with different inputs to check for certain comparisons. This guide will explain how to use Boolean expressions in Scala programming.

=> ↺ Scala Partial Function

• The partial function is a very rare type of function. This is described as the function that could not return a value for each parameter specified to it. It provides values for only a certain set of inputs, not all of them. In simple words, we can say that the partial function only returned the value for the dataset defined in scala. The partial function uses case statements that have been encapsulated inside the curly braces. The scala partial function is preferable while doing the logical conditions. Moreover, the partial function provides many other functions which are explained and executed in the specified scala files.

=> ↺ C++/ObjC++: switch to gnu++17 as the default standard

• rG36bb6d5d4673 (2017-12) switched Clang’s default C++ dialect from gnu++98 to gnu++14. I think it is perhaps time to switch to gnu++17 now. This will match GCC, which from 11 onward defaults to gnu++17.

• I have noticed that Apple’s DriverKit (⚙ D121911 [Clang] Add DriverKit support) has defaulted to C++17. If we land it, the next major release 16.0.0 will have the change.

=> ↺ Hello, Ruler

• Hey, look what’s been open-sourced: AWS Event Ruler! Check out the announcement blog. I built v1.0 of this Java library while I was at AWS, and wrote about it in Filtering Lessons. Tl;dr: It offers APIs for declaring pattern-matching Rules, as many as you like, then for presenting data records called Events and finding out which Rules each Event matches, very quickly. It’s in production in multiple Amazon (not just AWS) services, notably EventBridge. Also see: Content-based Filtering.

Python

=> ↺ How Classes and Objects Work in Python

• Procedural programming works fine for simple and smaller projects. But as you start working on larger applications, it’s important to organize code better. Object-oriented programming lets you group related data and functions logically. It also facilitates code reuse and lets you add functionality on top of existing code.

=> ↺ Pandas Not In

• The “pandas” is the library of “Python”. We can create a DataFrame in “pandas”. After creating a DataFrame in “pandas”, we then apply some functions to this DataFrame for doing the work which we want to do. We can also check some data in the DataFrame whether the data is present in the DataFrame or not. For checking the data in a DataFrame, we can utilize the “Not In” filter in “pandas”. This will check that specific data in the DataFrame which we have mentioned in the code and return the result. In this guide, we will discuss how to apply the “Not In” filter on a single column as well as on multiple columns in the “pandas” DataFrame. We now move to the codes of “pandas” where we will check some values in different columns of the DataFrame.

=> ↺ Pandas Melt()

• A panda is a Python-appropriated statistical framework. Before the invention of pandas, the bulk of researchers used Python for information mugging and preparation before switching to a more special dialect, such as “R”, for the balance of their process. Pandas offered Series, which provide a ranking layout, and dataframes, which has a tabulated layout. These two new types of objects are for storing information that facilitates analytical operations and eliminates the need to transfer tools. Pandas “melt()” function is used to describe a dataframe object that is produced in a specific manner with one or more columns acting as identifiers change in Dataset format from extensive to lengthy. Merely two columns are configurable and values, while the other columns are all regarded as values and unpivoted to the row axis. When Python supports explanatory data, you use this function.

• The dataframe’s columns, each of which can contain an integer, a floating-point number, or a string, are represented at the column level because it contains numerous indices, it, therefore, defaults to considering the nonvalue. Consequently, we melt the information using this column level. The variable name is a representation of the specific variable name that is used to melt columns. This adaptable typically comprises a scalar value and has the default value of non because it uses the variable used in that specific column to melt the dataframe.

=> ↺ Pandas Groupby Apply

• The most popular python library for data manipulation and analysis is pandas. Data analysis frequently requires the data to be divided into groups to execute different operations on each group. The split-apply-combine strategy is used by the GroupBy function in Pandas. This involves separating an object, using functions on the object, and combining the results. In this post to manipulate grouped data in a variety of ways, the groupby function will be used. One of the commonly used methods used for data preprocessing is the apply() method. Applying a function to every item in a Series of pandas, and to every dataframe’s column or row in pandas, is made simpler. The apply() method in pandas will be covered in this article along with the groupby() function.

=> ↺ Pandas Get Index Values

• Rows’ indexes are known as dataframe indexes, whereas columns’ indexes are known as general column names. Indexes are mostly used to retrieve the data or store the data inside the dataframe. However, we can also retrieve the index itself by using the .index property. In this tutorial, we will teach you how to get an index as a list object, how you can convert the index into a dataframe column to retrieve it, and how you can get the index by using multiple conditions and the index property of pandas.

=> ↺ Flask App Builder Is an Open Source Rapid Application Development for Flask Developers

• Flask is a strong lightweight yet simple Python framework for building fast web apps. Since it does not come stacked with full-stack options, many developers prefer Django and other framework for building their apps.

• But this is about to change with this Flask RAD framework: Flask App Builder, that speed up your project production by offering dozens of ready tools and features for building enterprise apps.

• Flask App Builder is a simple and rapid application development framework, built on top of Flask. It includes detailed security, auto CRUD generation for your models, google charts and much more.

=> ↺ How to use modern Python packaging and setuptools plugins together

• Python packaging has evolved a lot. The latest (“beta”) uses one file, pyproject.toml, to control the package.

• A minimal pyproject.toml might look like this…

Rust

=> ↺ This Week in Rust 459

Leftovers

Hardware

=> ↺ Calling an Expert | Three Commodore 64s Back from the Dead – CubicleNate’s Techpad

• I have had three Commodore 64 computers that were not functional. I was committed to fixing the computers to get them operational. One of these machines is my actual first computer from my childhood, the other two, not sure where they came from but were not functional. I identified on one that the CIA (complex Interface Adapter) chips. The other two machines, I was not able to determine the issue. Despite my watching of experts on YouTube, I lacked some of the tools to identify the issues as well as the skill and patience to do some of the work. I “worked” on these three systems on and off for about two years when I ultimately decided that I needed to phone an expert. If I continued at this rate, I would never finish any of this. I was also tired of pushing aside my C64s to work on other more pressing repairs.

Security

=> ↺ Schools warned of increased threat of cyberattacks

• The advisory came after the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) announced it had experienced a ransomware attack over the weekend.

=> ↺ New Stealthy Shikitega Malware Targeting Linux Systems and IoT Devices

• A new piece of stealthy Linux malware called Shikitega has been uncovered adopting a multi-stage infection chain to compromise endpoints and IoT devices and deposit additional payloads.

• “An attacker can gain full control of the system, in addition to the cryptocurrency miner that will be executed and set to persist,” AT&T Alien Labs said in a new report published Tuesday.

Bloat

=> ↺ ARCHIVED: For a NetWare 3.12 server, what are the hardware requirements?

• At least 4MB of RAM [...]

Environment

Energy

=> ↺ DSHR’s Blog: Impossibilities

• I’m starting to see a series of papers each showing that some assertion about the cryptocurrency ecosystem that crypto-bros make can’t be true. I wrote about the first one I noticed in Ethereum Has Issues, but I have since seen several more.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Big logging company Pentarch pinged for shifty forestry practices

• In a win for conservationists, Pentarch Forestry, the biggest native forest logger in NSW and one of the biggest in Australia, has had its Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sustainability certification suspended. What was the scam?

• The scam is that such certifications are often used for ‘greenwashing’ – the pretence of being environmentally friendly in one area being used to obscure less desirable practices elsewhere. In Pentarch’s case, mixing woodchips from the uncertified native operations with the certified chips from its plantations.

• In 2017 Pentarch obtained FSC Controlled Wood Certification for its Eden, Victorian and Burnie plantation operations. This must be regularly renewed in a recertification audit. A recent FSC audit found that its due diligence system was out of date, potentially enabling regrowth native forest and plantation woodchips to be mixed together, and threatened species assessments were not being done.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ Obituary: Peter Eckersley

• In 1998, the president of the Melbourne University Student Union, Shelley Marshall, selected two students to represent student interests in the university’s strategic decision making bodies.

• Peter Eckersley and I.

• Shelley has no IT experience so she was making this decision based on feedback from the wider community. She was not affiliated with the political groups where Peter and I found support. Somehow she put aside the day-to-day machinations of student politics and appointed these positions on merit alone. History has proven her choices to be correct.

• This created a situation where Peter and I were both rivals and collaborators. Despite the murky nature of student politics and the fact that our association would subsequently become the biggest ever bankruptcy of a non-profit student association, I couldn’t find fault with him.

• In September of 1998, when student elections came around, we faced the most unusual situation. Melbourne University Student Union had the privilege of electing seven delegates to the National Union of Students. Out of those seven seats, six candidates won a quota. Three candidates remained: Jacob Varghese, Peter Eckersley and I in a preference battle.

• Jacob was the smoothest political operator of our generation. He took that seat and a few weeks later became president of the NUS too. Today, Jacob is CEO of Australia’s most respected plaintiff law firm, Maurice Blackburn. The fact that two students from engineering and computer science, Peter and I, came within striking distance of this hot-shot law student is incredible in itself. Had Peter and I collaborated (think John Nash, game theory), we might have had the last word.

• For a while, Peter was affiliated with the Australian Democrats. They were the third party in Australian politics. Democrat supporters had a reputation for being principled people who refused to associate with the two mainstream political parties. Principles were thrown out the window when the Democrat party imploded. Peter and I both left Australia.

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ La komenco de septembro, Teixcalaan

• Things are alright; I feel like I don’t have a ton to write about, but not every day can be super exciting. I finished (printing) a 1100-piece mailing today.

=> ↺ Heat pump installed

• Today the heat pump was commissioned and brought into service. It took 7 working days in total (Tue – Fri last week, Mon – Wed this week), which was 3 days longer than promised, due to a missing part. Not ideal when there’s no heating, but the weather stayed fine, and wife + baby decamped to the grandparents for the first week, to avoid the noise.

=> ↺ Roofmounting a NetAidKit

• I bought a small USB-powered router a few years ago in the form of the NetAidKit and it’s the computer that I’ve been carrying around with me the longest. Originally it was recommended to me by people that had made their Thinkpads ethernet-only to avoid malicious firmware blobs. I got one because I was running Genode on my Thinkpad in the days before the Sculpt distro and the driver at the time didn’t support my wifi card, but ethernet worked fine.

=> ↺ Autism, the mental health professions, gaslighting, and trauma

• Firstly, there are the ongoing failures to even acknowledge the possibility that we’re autistic, together with failures to recognise that we are autistic. This has been (and still is) often due to failures to explore / learn about what autism can (and does) look like in people other than cis boys, with the result that it’s not recognised/diagnosed in girls, and only ends up getting recognised/diagnosed in women after many years (like me at the age of 47).

Technical

=> ↺ initial thoughts on stable diffusion’s dataset

• i’ve come across this little article about stable diffusion’s training dataset [2]. unlike dall-e’s openAI, stability is rather transparent about this stuff, which is great. so. i wanna talk about the dataset — or rather, the fraction of the dataset [3] that’s been organized and can be browsed. read the article first and then come back so i don’t have to paraphrase it all lmao

• the fraction we can browse is composed of 12 million image-caption pairs, or “2% of the 600 million images used to train the most recent three checkpoints”. so it’s a lot but doesn’t even scratch the surface.

Science

=> ↺ AI that can learn the patterns of human language

• A new machine learning model might learn that the letter “a” must be added to the end of a word to make the masculine form feminine in Serbo-Croatian. For instance, the masculine form of the word “bogat” becomes the feminine “bogata.”

=> ↺ Ivan Illich on computers – the need for ‘technological ascesis’ – Critical Studies of EDUCATION – TECHNOLOGY

• Ivan Illich reportedly made extensive use of a PC in his later life, and was often frustrated and disheartened that it was technically not possible for him to reprogram the computer’s operating system or core software packages to fit his personal needs (Samerski 2018). In this sense, Illich was keenly aware of the computer’s enormous power, alongside its devastating effects on the body, the senses, and social interactions. To this latter point, Illich described the computer as a ‘mindboggling’ device – i.e. a tool that stops people thinking for themselves, that demands people to not rely on their own senses but rely on technology to tell them what they feel and what they are.

Programming

=> ↺ Edge of the Lame day two

• Heya! Didn’t spend much time working on LZR and Edge of the Lame today, but still tackled nice stuff.

• I integrated some SDL2_gfx functions into LZR, as a result it is now possible to draw Circles and Polygons! Here are the prototypes, they’re both very easy to use and consistent with other drawing functions exposed by LZR.

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