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● 03.27.23

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● Links 26/03/2023: OpenMandriva ROME 23.03, Texinfo 7.0.3, and KBibTeX 0.10.0

Posted in News Roundup at 12:49 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

=> ↺ Linux Around The World: USA – Louisiana

• We cover events and user groups that are running in the US state of Louisiana. This article forms part of our Linux Around The World series.

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ Free Software Security/Josh Bressers: Episode 368 – The Sovereign Tech Fund with Fiona Krakenbürger

• Josh and Kurt talk to Fiona Krakenbürger about the Sovereign Tech Fund. This is a fund created by Germany to fund important open source projects. Fiona has amazing insight into how this fund was created, what it’s doing today to help fund open source. She discusses where we go from here and what the future will look like. The Sovereign Tech Fund is a forward thinking program to fund open source across the world. This episode is a window into the future.

=> ↺ GNU World Order 505

• polkit-kde-agent , powerdevil , poxml , print-manager ,

• prison , pulseaudio-qt , purpose from the Slackware kde

• package set.

• shasum -a256=533bba40acd690d666ad17934dd66c073ea61784eaf85eacd398220cf0051a94

Kernel Space

=> ↺ Linux 6.3-rc4

Graphics Stack

=> ↺ [ANNOUNCE] libinput 1.23.0

=> ↺ [ANNOUNCE] mesa 23.0.1

Applications

=> ↺ Gtop – A Command-line System Monitoring Dashboard

• As a Linux system administrator, having access to real-time performance insights is crucial for managing and optimizing your system. While there are several command-line tools available, Gtop offers an interactive, visually appealing dashboard that presents a wealth of system information at a glance.

=> ↺ Iostat – Monitoring CPU and Disk I/O on Linux with Examples

• Iostat is a valuable Linux command-line utility that provides detailed information about your system’s CPU and disk I/O performance.

=> ↺ vmstat – Monitoring Memory & Processes In Linux with Examples

• In the world of Linux system administration, monitoring and understanding the performance of your system is crucial for ensuring its smooth operation.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How to Install IDLE Python IDE in Ubuntu

• When starting out in Python, setting up a coding environment can be challenging. IDLE (Integrated Development Learning Environment) is a Python IDE that simplifies the process for the same. You can start coding immediately after you install it.

• IDLE is an easy-to-use IDE with features that make it easier for you to write and run Python code. It comes pre-installed with some operating systems, but on Linux, you need to install it. Learn how to install IDLE on Ubuntu and how to use its interactive shell.

=> ↺ How to Write a Simple Linux Bash Honeypot

• The first step in a malicious hacker attack is scanning. This means that an attacker will scan its target for open ports and vulnerabilities.

=> ↺ How to Delete MySQL User Accounts

• MySQL is a widely used open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) that allows you to store, organize, and retrieve data efficiently. User account management plays a crucial role in maintaining the security and integrity of your database.

=> ↺ How to Install Kdenlive on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

• When it comes to video editing, Kdenlive stands out as a versatile and user-friendly solution for Linux users. Developed on the KDE platform, this open-source video editor has gained widespread popularity among multimedia enthusiasts and professionals alike.

=> ↺ How to Install KTorrent on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

• KTorrent is an efficient and feature-rich BitTorrent client designed for the KDE Plasma desktop environment on Linux systems. Built with user-friendliness and flexibility, KTorrent offers advanced features catering to beginners and experienced users.

=> ↺ How to Install MyPaint on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

• MyPaint is a highly versatile and user-friendly open-source digital painting application designed to cater to artists of all levels. With its powerful, dynamic brush engine and sleek, intuitive interface, MyPaint has become a go-to tool for creatives looking for a seamless digital painting experience.

=> ↺ How to Check the MySQL Version

• MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) that is widely used for web applications and content management systems. Knowing the MySQL version you are running can be essential for compatibility, security, and performance reasons.

=> ↺ How To Install LibreOffice on Linux Mint 21

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install LibreOffice on Linux Mint 21.

=> ↺ How To Install MyPaint on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install MyPaint on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, MyPaint is a free, open-source graphics application designed specifically for digital painting and drawing.

=> ↺ How To Install ProcessWire on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install ProcessWire on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

=> ↺ How To Install Audacity on Rocky Linux 9

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Audacity on Rocky Linux 9.

=> ↺ Emanuele Rocca: EFI and Secure Boot Notes

=> ↺ How to Install VMware Workstation Player on Debian 11 (Bullseye)

• Install VMware Workstation Player on Debian 11 (Bullseye) and easily enjoy virtualization. Follow our step-by-step tutorial to get started.

=> ↺ Maximize functionality with these tmux plugins & extensions

• In this article, we will explore valuable tips and tricks for using Tmux plugins and extensions, including how to install them, configure them, and use them to streamline your workflow. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced user, this guide will provide you with the knowledge you need to take your Tmux experience to the next level.

=> ↺ Simplifying virtualization on Ubuntu with GNOME Boxes

• In this guide, we will provide a step-by-step tutorial on how to install and use Gnome Boxes on Ubuntu. We will cover the steps involved in installing Gnome Boxes, creating and managing virtual machines, and configuring virtual machine settings. We will also explore some popular use cases for Gnome Boxes.

=> ↺ Exploring the Pop!_OS Desktop Environment

• In this guide, we will provide an introduction to the Pop!_OS desktop environment. We will cover its features, customization options, and differences from other popular desktop environments. We will also explore some popular tools and applications for working with Pop!_OS.

Games

=> ↺ Best Steam Deck Games Released in the Past Week with Roadwarden, No Time and Quake – 2023-03-26 Edition

• Between 2023-03-19 and 2023-03-26 there were 95 new games validated for the Steam Deck.

=> ↺ Last of Us Part I Verified Day 1 on the Steam Deck?

• It looks that way — apparently on the Steam Deck official website the current short trailer of games showcased on the Steam Deck (that are usually Verified) includes a short sequence from the Last of Us Part 1…

Desktop Environments/WMs

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

=> ↺ Building Plasma against Qt6

• As you probably have heard by now the lastest development versions of Plasma and KDE Frameworks require Qt6. This transition has been in the works for a few years by now, but it was only somewhat recently that we took the plunge and started relying on Qt6 exclusively for Plasma. Plasma 5.27 is the last Plasma 5 release and continues in bugfix-only mode.

• For people who want to hack on Plasma features this raises the obvious question: How do I build Plasma 6 to hack on it?

• Before diving into this, a word of warning: Current Plasma master is in no way “ready for production”. There are known-broken things and things may temporarily regress at any time. That said, the only way to get towards a stable thing is to dig in and fix things. So let’s see how to do that.

• For this explanation I’m assuming you have build KDE software with kdesrc-build before. If not we have some extensive documentation for that. First you need at least Qt 6.4 installed. The usually best way to get that is from your distribution. If your distribution does not have Qt6 packaged yet please complain^Wtalk to them. CMake should complain about any missing Qt6 modules/development files, but make sure you have the qtpaths tool installed beforehand. It should be named something like qtpaths6 or qtpaths-qt6.

=> ↺ KBibTeX 0.10.0 released

• After the recent release of KBibTeX 0.9.3.2 as the last release of the 0.9.x branch, it is now time to make a stable release of KBibTeX 0.10.0. Tar-balls are as usual available at KDE’s download mirrors. Some of the changes were documented more than two years ago in a pre-release (0.9.90), but here are the highlights taken from the ChangeLog: [...]

Distributions and Operating Systems

=> ↺ blendOS Aims to Replace All Linux Distributions

• Sounds too far-fetched?

• Well, blendOS pitches itself to be the ultimate distro-blend.

• blendOS is a new project by Rudra Saraswat, known for Ubuntu-based remixes, and Ubuntu Unity in particular (which is now an official Ubuntu flavour).

• I would say the project has a pretty accurate name for what it wants to achieve.

• But, how does blendOS aim to be a replacement to all? What is it all about?

=> ↺ I want ArcaOS 5.1!

• ArcaOS 5.1 is complete and ready for release. The holdup is really related to our distribution system, which is based on the WooCommerce platform.

=> ↺ Time to Stop Using (and Recommending) Solus

• I’ve complained in the past about Solus (Linux distro) when they could not be bothered to fix their Steam Linux client packaging after Proton 5.13 was long out (they eventually did)…

Reviews

=> ↺ Review: siduction 22.1.1

• I like Debian and run it on almost every computer I own, so siduction felt very familiar to me. In some ways it was a preview of Debian 12, and in other ways, it was an interesting look at some advanced features that go beyond the conservativeness of vanilla Debian. The three major features covered in its release notes — chroot helper, Nala, and snapper — are all great features. I just wish the chroot helper worked with my eMMC drive, but siduction would not be the first distribution that had issues when the only storage available is eMMC storage.

• If Debian-based distributions are your preferred Linux distributions, I highly recommend giving siduction a try. It offers many interesting things while remaining familiar. There are certainly plenty of Debian-based distributions out there, but siduction provides a lot of features that make it different from other distributions. Sure, it lacks the conservativeness of Debian Stable, but aside from the issue with the siduction-btrfs package on an ext4 install, I ran into no major issues when working on this review. Though, I am somewhat amused by absurdity of the root password issue, but that was 99% on me for doing something I knew would likely end up ending in the situation that it did.

PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandriva/OpenMandriva Family

=> ↺ OpenMandriva ROME 23.03 is Here: Get Ready to be Impressed

• Shining with KDE Plasma 5.27.3 and vanilla GNOME 43.3, OpenMandriva ROME 23.03 will impress and satisfy every user’s taste.

=> ↺ OpenMandriva Lx 23.03 Released with Linux 6.2, Mesa 23, and KDE Plasma 5.27

• OpenMandriva Lx 23.03 is here almost three months after the introduction of OpenMandriva Lx 23.01 ROME as OpenMandriva’s first-ever rolling-release edition where you install once and receive updates forever.

• This release bumps the kernel to the latest Linux 6.2, ships with the latest and greatest KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS desktop environment series, which is accompanied by the KDE Frameworks 5.104 and KDE Gear 22.12.3 software suites, and features out-of-the-box support for the Flatpak universal and sandboxed binary format.

=> ↺ Opera Browser 97.0.4719.28

• The Opera Browser has been updated to 97.0.4719.28 and available through our software repository. No need to go hunting all over the internet to find your favorite web browser when they are in the PCLinuxOS software repository!

=> ↺ Vivaldi Browser 5.7.2921.65

• The Vivaldi Browser has been updated tp 5.7.2921.65 and shipped to our software repository.

=> ↺ PaleMoon Browser 32.1.0

• The PaleMoon Browser has been updated to 32.1.0 and available from the software repository.

=> ↺ Chromium Browser 111.0.5563.64

• The Chromium Browser has been updated to 111.0.5563.64 and available from the software repository.

=> ↺ Brave Browser 1.49.128

• Brave Browser has been updated to 1.49.128 and has been shipped to the software repository. Brave Browser is one of the best Chromium based browsers on the market.

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ CM4 Maker Board review – Part 1: specifications, unboxing, and first boot

• Cytron CM4 Maker Board is a carrier board for the Raspberry Pi CM4 or CM4 Lite system-on-module with plenty of I/Os, support for one M.2 NVMe SSD, and RTC backup battery, a buzzer, and various LEDs for GPIO status that makes the board especially well suited for the education market and prototyping.

• The board is designed to run the Raspberry Pi OS operating system provided by Raspberry Pi Trading.

=> ↺ Arduino Uno R4 Due in May With 32-Bit CPU, 16x the RAM and USB-C

• One of the world’s most popular microcontroller boards is getting a huge upgrade.

=> ↺ Arduino UNO R4 Renesas RA4M1 32-bit maker board offered with optional ESP32-S3 WiFI & BLE module

• Arduino have launched an upgrade to their 8-bit Arduino UNO R3 board with the Arduino UNO R4 featuring a 48 MHz Renesas RA4M1 Arm Cortex-M4F 32-bit microcontroller, and an optional ESP32-S3 module for WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ Google Keep for Wear OS actually becomes useful

=> ↺ What To Do When Your Android Phone’s Storage Is Full

=> ↺ An incoming Android tweak stops your phone from blinding you in the dark | TechRadar

=> ↺ 5 Best PSP Emulators for Android

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Art

=> ↺ LibreArts Weekly recap — 26 March 2023

• Week highlights: new releases of topologicpy and LSP plugins, new features and improvements in GIMP, Inkscape, FreeCAD, Olive, automatic generation of subtitles from audio is coming to Kdenlive.

• There’s some minor porting of various file support plugins to GimpProcedureDialog API going on. Other than that, no major changes.

=> ↺ Fa Bd Comics books on SCAMazon: don’t buy them

• Achievement unlocked: we found with the Pepper&Carrot community Fa BD Comic, the publisher of the worst derivations of Pepper&Carrot made so far.

• Unfortunately, the product’s are published under my name and also in the name of artists who sent fan-arts of Pepper&Carrot… That’s why I write this article to describe a bit this scam and desktop publishing carnage happening right now on Amazon and inform the audience of Pepper&Carrot to not buy them.

• Brace yourself, cause we are going in the territory of the zero absolute of quality, graphic designs horrors, colorimetry nightmares and bad layout.

Content Management Systems (CMS)

=> ↺ Bryan Quigley: Email list to Ghost site – PastaDollar.com

• From a pricing perspective, the platform scales with your audience size. Importantly, Ghost does not take a cut of your membership subscription revenue. For this reason, the pricing incentives mean your Ghost site is more cost-effective when you have 100% paid members and 0% free members. I’m sure that ratio is a pipe dream for most publications, but that’s how the business model works. Pricing is currently $9/mo for any site with 500 or fewer subscribers, including web hosting.

GNU Projects

=> ↺ Texinfo 7.0.3 released

=> ↺ texinfo @ Savannah: Texinfo 7.0.3 released

• We have released version 7.0.3 of Texinfo, the GNU documentation format. This is a minor bug-fix release. It’s available via a mirror (xz is much smaller than gz, but gz is available too just in case):http://ftpmirror.gnu.org/texinfo/texinfo-7.0.3.tar.xzhttp://ftpmirror.gnu.org/texinfo/texinfo-7.0.3.tar.gz Please send any comments to bug-texinfo@gnu.org. Full announcement:https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-texinfo/2023-03/msg00087.html

=> ↺ a2ps @ Savannah: a2ps 4.15.3 released [stable]

Programming/Development

=> ↺ How to Implement OTP View in Android?

• An OTP View or PinView in android is a widget that allows users to enter their PIN, OTP, etc.

=> ↺ Little useless-useful R functions – Transforming dataframe to markdown table

• Writing markdown documents outside RStudio (using the usual set of packages) has benefits and struggles. Huge struggle is transforming dataframe results into markdown table, using hypens and pipes.

=> ↺ Reading Remote Data Files

• Sometimes data arrives as a series of individual files each of which is organized in the same way—which is to say, each of which has the same variables, features, or columns.

=> ↺ Dirk Eddelbuettel: littler 0.3.18 on CRAN: New and Updated Scripts

• The nineteenth release of littler as aCRAN package landed this morning, following in the now seventeen year history (!!) as a package started by Jeff in 2006, and joined by me a few weeks later.

• littler is the first command-line interface for R as it predatesRscript. It allows for piping as well for shebang scripting via #!, uses command-line arguments more consistently and still starts faster. It also always loaded the methods package whichRscript only began to do in recent years.

• lives on Linux and Unix, has its difficulties on macOS due to yet-another-braindeadedness there (who ever thought case-insensitive filesystems as a default were a good idea?) and simply does not exist on Windows (yet – the build system could be extended – see RInside for an existence proof, and volunteers are welcome!). See the FAQ vignette on how to add it to your PATH. A few examples are highlighted at the Github repo, as well as in the examples vignette.

Perl / Raku

=> ↺ 2023-03-21Perl Weekly Challenge 209: Special Bit Characters and Merge Account

=> ↺ 2023-03-19Perl Weekly Challenge #208

=> ↺ 2023-03-22Text::Extract::Word, MsOffice::Word::Surgeon – Weekly Travelling in CPAN

=> ↺ 2023-03-24This week in PSC (102)

=> ↺ Introducing Exporter::Almighty

• Exporter::Almighty sets up your exporting automatically (but using Exporter::Tiny instead of Exporter), and calls use strict and use warnings on your behalf.

• Exporter::Almighty creates your constants for you, so you don’t need to duplicate your list of constants anywhere.

Python

=> ↺ Update: python-per-line.py version 0.0.10

• This is an update to python-per-line.py, my tool to execute a Python expression one each line of a text file. New options are regex join split. And there are new string reversal functions: Reverse and ReverseFind. More details in the man page. python-per-line_V0_0_10.zip (http)MD5: 54BFA2E593A024E3FBAA76757D63847ESHA256: D12E5FE10F71011C480EA332E0E183AE904024CEBC22128775197481152B9C1E

=> ↺ Top 10 Python IDEs in 2023

• IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment is software that facilitates the programmers to develop applications.

Java

=> ↺ Overusing the Static Keyword in Java

• The static keyword is often overused in Java and this can lead to several risks, including: To mitigate these risks, it is recommended to use the static keyword sparingly and only when necessary.

=> ↺ How to Use Properly Lambdas in Java

• Lambdas are a concise way to define and use functional interfaces in Java.

=> ↺ What is a Predicate in Java and How to Use It

• In Java, a predicate is a functional interface from the java.util.function package that represents a function that takes in one argument and returns a boolean value.

=> ↺ How to Add Dependencies in a Maven Project

• In Maven, you can manage dependencies using a pom.xml file.

=> ↺ What is Polymorphism in Java

• Polymorphism in Java is a concept that allows objects of different classes to be treated as if they were of the same type. It allows you to write code that can work with objects of multiple classes, without knowing the specific type of each object at compile time.

=> ↺ How to Remove Elements from Collections using the removeIf() Method

• The removeIf() method is a default method introduced in Java 8 for the Collection interface. It is used to remove all elements from the collection that satisfy a given condition.

=> ↺ What is the AutoCloseable interface in Java and How to Implement it

• The AutoCloseable interface is a functional interface introduced in Java 7 that defines a single method called close(). This interface is used to ensure that resources are closed automatically when they are no longer needed, without the need for manual intervention.

=> ↺ How to Prevent Resources From Leaking in Java

• In Java, a resource leak occurs when a program fails to properly release system resources after they are no longer needed. This can lead to a range of problems, such as reduced system performance, increased memory usage, and potential security vulnerabilities.

=> ↺ Reasons to Make Methods Final in Java

• Making methods final in Java can provide several benefits…

Standards/Consortia

=> ↺ Daylight dispute leaves Lebanon with 2 time zones

• Lebanon woke up in two time zones on Sunday amid an escalating dispute between political and religious authorities over a decision to delay the clock change by a month.

=> ↺ Lebanon time in confusion over daylight savings dispute

• Lebanon woke up in two time zones on Sunday amid an escalating dispute between political and religious authorities over a decision to extend winter time for a month.

Leftovers

=> ↺ Joe Brockmeier: What If Everybody Did It (WIEDI)?

• Most people, I think, tend only to think about their actions and interactions as one-offs.

=> ↺ Militia executes 17 hostages in eastern DR Congo

• A notorious militia in eastern DR Congo on Sunday executed 17 people it took hostage the previous day, local sources said.

=> ↺ Dozens of migrants killed in latest boat disaster off Tunisia

• At least 29 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa died when their two boats sank off the coast of Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, the Tunisian coast guard said on Sunday.

Science

=> ↺ Hong Kong biomedical event defends 22-speaker exclusively male line-up

• Organisers of a biomedical innovations event consisting of an exclusively male 22-speaker line-up has defended the gender disparity. The event was held last week at the Science Park in Shatin and was supported by the University of Hong Kong, InvestHK, the Hong Kong Startup Council, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

=> ↺ Extreme Horizons in Space Could Lure Quantum States Into Reality

• They’re watching.

=> ↺ Strange Signal From Decades Ago Hints at Hidden Oceans Orbiting Uranus

• An unresolved mystery from Voyager

Education

=> ↺ Afghan Women’s Protest For Education Halted In Kabul By Taliban

• At least 20 Afghan women marched in the capital, Kabul, on March 26 to demand the right to education for women and girls before being rounded up by a Taliban patrol.

Hardware

=> ↺ Gordon Moore, Intel co-founder and creator of ‘Moore’s Law,’ dies at 94

=> ↺ Intel Co-founder, Philanthropist Gordon Moore Dies at 94

• Intel Corp. co-founder Gordon Moore, who the breakneck pace of progress in the digital age with a simple 1965 prediction of how quickly engineers would boost the capacity of computer chips, has died. He was 94.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ Philadelphia Water Supply Chemical Spill Prompts Advisory

• More than 8,000 gallons of an acrylic polymer solution leaked on Friday into a tributary of the Delaware River, a source of the city’s drinking water.

=> ↺ When I Got Cancer, My Dreams Told Me What My Doctors Could Not

• When all the rational decision-making options are bad, relying on dreams offers a different kind of logic that can be a lifesaver in its own way.

=> ↺ Over 40 million euros in costs from patient harm: Multiplied consequences for society

• The Patient Insurance Center in Finland has reported a significant increase in patient injury claims in 2022, with over 9,000 claims filed during the year. Nearly one-quarter of the claims resulted in compensation payments, with the majority relating to surgical and anaesthetic procedures. Claims for compensation due to delays in diagnosis and treatment have also increased in recent years.

=> ↺ US Nuclear Power Plant in Minnesota Taken Offline After Leak

• “The leaked water remains fully contained on-site and has not been detected beyond the facility or in any local drinking water,” Xcel Energy vows.

=> ↺ US federal judge blocks request to reinstate abortion ban in Guam

• A federal court in Guam Friday denied a request to reinstate a total abortion ban on the island of Guam. The Attorney General of Guam Douglas Moylan filed the motion to reinstate the ban.

Proprietary

=> ↺ Get Off My Desktop! Windows Needs to Stop Showing Tabloid News

• Microsoft is treating the Windows search and widgets boxes like a supermarket checkout line.

=> ↺ ! Avi Alkalay ¡: GPT me

• This is what GPT “knows” about me. More precisely, this is the sequence of words GPT generates when asked with that specific prompt.

• First paragraph is 100% correct.

• Second is kind of 50% (in)correct and outdated.

• Third paragraph he completely confused me with one of my relatives that have same last name but different first name.

• Also, I think GPT would have a different perspective about me if blog posts in social media, such as Facebook, would be part of its training dataset. But it can’t because Meta won’t allow open access to their platform even if I post openly there.

Pseudo-Open Source

Openwashing

=> ↺ Why Carriers Are Powering Telecom Cloud Services With Open Ethernet with SONiC

Security

=> ↺ Crackers attack Wisconsin court system computer network

• Hackers have attacked the Wisconsin court system’s computer network, court officials said Thursday. A cyberattack began early this week, according to a statement from court officials. Network users may have experienced intermittent service or slower than usual response times from online services, court officials said. Asked when specifically the attack began and if it’s still ongoing, courts spokesman Tom Sheehan said in an email that he had no further information.

=> ↺ Australia’s Latitude Group Says 7.9 Million Driver Licence Numbers Stolen in Data Theft

=> ↺ Hacked: Latitude confirms details of 14 million consumers stolen

• The data breach affects driver licence numbers of 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand customers of retailers including Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys and Apple.

=> ↺ Latitude now says 7.9m driver licence details stolen in breach

• In an update to the ASX on Monday, the company said out of this number, 3.2 million had been provided during the last decade.

• “In addition, approximately 53,000 passport numbers were stolen. We have also identified less than 100 customers who had a monthly financial statement stolen,” the statement said.

• Major Australian retailers Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, David Jones and The Good Guys offer buy-now-pay-later services in association with Latitude.

=> ↺ Friday afternoon fraud: the scam that wipes out your house deposit in seconds

• Discover how conveyancing fraud works and how to avoid it

=> ↺ CyberChef Version 10 Released, (Sun, Mar 26th)

=> ↺ Extra: “String Obfuscation: Character Pair Reversal”, (Sun, Mar 26th)

• I discovered that the textwrap.wrap function…

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ At Apple, Rare Dissent Over a New Product: Interactive Goggles

• The company is expected to unveil an augmented reality headset in a few months. Some employees wonder if the device makes sense for Apple.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile off Its East Coast -South Korea Military

=> ↺ Israel Boils as Netanyahu Ousts Minister Who Bucked Court Overhaul

• Protests broke out shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired the defense minister, who had called for a halt to efforts to weaken the judiciary.

=> ↺ North Korea fires ballistic missile towards eastern waters

• North Korea fired at least one unidentified ballistic missile Monday, South Korea’s military said, the latest in its flurry of weapons tests in recent weeks.

=> ↺ Israel’s Netanyahu sacks defence minister after call to suspend judicial reforms

• Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Sunday in protest after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed his defense minister who had urged the government to halt a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system.

=> ↺ South Korea says North Korea test-fired another missile

• South Korea’s military says it detected North Korea firing at least one ballistic missile toward the sea off its eastern coast, adding to a recent flurry in weapons tests.

=> ↺ North Korea fires ballistic missile, says South

• The launch comes days after Seoul and Washington ended their largest joint military drills in five years.

=> ↺ Mass protests erupt after Netanyahu fires defense chief

• Tens of thousands of Israelis have poured into the streets across the country in a spontaneous outburst of anger after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister for challenging the Israeli leader’s judicial overhaul plan. Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires Sunday, while police scuffled with protesters outside Netanyahu’s private home in Jerusalem. The unrest deepened a monthslong crisis over Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary. Mass protests and unrest in the military prompted Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday to speak out against the changes. In a brief statement Sunday, Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister had dismissed Gallant.

=> ↺ Israel defense minister fired after calling for suspension of judicial reform legislation

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

=> ↺ Netanyahu sacks defense minister who called for halt to judicial overhaul

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister on Sunday, a day after Yoav Gallant called for suspending the government’s judicial overhaul plan and warned opposition, including within the military, to the legislation was undermining Israel’s national security.

=> ↺ Honduras Switches Relations to China, a Blow to Taiwan

• The decision by Honduras is also a setback in Washington’s efforts to use its influence in Central America to help prevent China from isolating Taiwan.

=> ↺ Honduras breaks off diplomatic ties with Taiwan

• Honduras announced on Saturday that it had broken off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, a move that drew an immediate rebuke from Taipei as Tegucigalpa switches allegiances to China.

=> ↺ In blow to Taiwan, Honduras and China officially establish diplomatic relations

• China and Honduras began formal diplomatic relations on Sunday, with Taiwan accusing Beijing of using “coercion and intimidation” to lure away its few remaining allies.

=> ↺ Putin Says He Could Put Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus by Summer

• The proposal from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, talked of since last year, would be provocative without changing the West’s battlefield calculus in Ukraine.

=> ↺ Putin says Russia will station tactical nukes in Belarus

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. Putin said the move was a response to Britain’s decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Speaking in an interview broadcast Saturday on Russian state television, Putin said Russia would maintain control over the tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus. He said storage facilities would be completed by July 1 but didn’t say how many weapons they would hold. He argued that Russia was following the lead of the United States, which has tactical nuclear weapons based in Europe. Such weapons are intended for battlefield use, unlike more powerful, longer-range strategic nuclear weapons.

=> ↺ History in the Rubble

• Documenting the damage of last month’s earthquakes in Turkey.

=> ↺ Ukraine calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting over Putin nuke plan

• Ukraine is calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to place tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus.

=> ↺ Wagner Fighters Left as Convicts. Will Russia Bury Them as Heroes?

• As thousands of ex-prisoners fight and die in Ukraine, honoring their memory is becoming a patriotic imperative in Russia. But some committed crimes their old neighbors cannot forget.

=> ↺ When things turned to ‘Ash’: Henry Tarrio’s first witness appears; plus a fight over informants ensues at Proud Boys sedition trial

• The first witness called by Proud Boy ringleader Henry Tarrio at Jan. 6 sedition trial trips over testimony

=> ↺ From the Archives, 1885: Victoria’s navy readies for Russian invasion

• In 1885, with tensions high between England and Russia, and a Russian fleet spotted off the coast of South Africa, just 19 days steam from Australia, the Victorian government prepared for war.

=> ↺ Taking Japan–Australia defence cooperation to the next level

• After decades of gradual military build-up by China, territorial disputes with China and Russia, and increasing concern about North Korea’s missile-strike capability, Japan is once again reinventing itself and rapidly moving from the pacifist stance [...]

=> ↺ Somalian Army Kills Over 3,000 Al-shabab Militants in 6 Months

• President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed to intensify military operations to flush out al-Shabab militants from their strongholds.

=> ↺ North Macedonia’s Military Backs Sending Mi-24 Helicopters To Ukraine

• The General Staff of North Macedonia has backed the transfer to Ukraine of 12 Mi-24 military helicopters that it purchased from Kyiv two decades ago, Macedonian Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska said.

=> ↺ Fighting Rages Around Bakhmut As West Assails Kremlin Plan To Place Nukes In Belarus

• International condemnation has intensified over Moscow’s plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, even as fighting raged in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, with the ruined city of Bakhmut continuing to be the focal point of Russia’s struggling war effort.

=> ↺ Ukraine’s Top Central Banker Vows To Tighten ‘Dangerous’ Monetary Approach

• Ukrainian National Bank Governor Andriy Pishniy says the bank has settled its “open conflict” with the government and will avoid the “very dangerous” practice of printing new money to fund the war effort.

=> ↺ No more money printing to fund war: Ukraine bank chief

• Ukraine will no longer resort to “dangerous” monetary financing to fund the war against Russia, its central bank governor, Andriy Pyshnyi, has told the Financial Times.

=> ↺ Tehran Condemns U.S. Strikes On Iran-Linked Groups In Syria

• Tehran has condemned U.S. air strikes on Iran-linked forces in Syria that reportedly killed 19 people, which Washington said it carried out following a deadly drone attack on U.S. forces.

=> ↺ U.K. Says Iran Resupplies To Russia Of Kamikaze Drones Fueling More March Attacks

• The British Defense Ministry said on March 26 that Russia had “likely launched” at least 71 Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones against Ukraine after a two-week letup in late February.

=> ↺ Pentagon: No Indication Russia Plans To Use Nuclear Weapons

• The U.S. Department of Defense said that there were no indications that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons after Moscow’s announcement to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

=> ↺ Fighting Beijing’s long arm of repression

• Activists rely on social media to stay in touch, but this also makes them more vulnerable

Transparency/Investigative Reporting

=> ↺ Democracy Died in Darkness in Harvard Trial Sidebars

• Judge Allison Burroughs refused to unseal an anti-asian joke shared by a federal employee to Harvard’s Dean of Admissions.

Environment

Axios ☛ Mississippi, other Southern states see more severe weather SundayWith residents of Mississippi and portions of Alabama reeling from the damage sustained during Friday night’s deadly tornado outbreak, more severe weather is occurring Sunday. Threat level: The Storm Prediction Center forecast the likelihood of “several tornadoes” that could include “a few strong tornadoes” of EF-2 intensity or greater in southern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia into Sunday night. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) placed the region from northeastern Louisiana to southern Alabama at a “moderate risk” for severe thunderstorms Sunday. This is a level 4 out of 5 on the storm threat scale.The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for portions of far eastern Louisiana and all of central Mississippi around 4 pm local time. The watch is scheduled to expire at 11 pm local time on Sunday night. Axios ☛ In photos: Mississippi town decimated by deadly tornadoDozens of people were killed and homes were destroyed as tornadoes spiraled through parts of Mississippi and Alabama on Friday night.The big picture: More tornados are expected to hit Mississippi, Alabama and other Southern states Sunday, Axios’ Andrew Freedman reports.Zoom in: In Mississippi, the rural towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork in the southwest and Amory in the northeast all sustained significant tornado damage Friday.The NWS preliminary damage survey found the tornadoes that struck Rolling Fork and Silver City were about 3/4 a mile wide and lasted for over an hour. It was given a rating of EF-4 — the second highest.In Amory, businesses and infrastructure were significantly damaged or destroyed.

=> ↺ Wildfire Burns 4,000 Hectares in Spain

• “Conditions of water and temperature are not those that have traditionally existed in our country,” Minister Rivera pointed out.

=> ↺ Dozens killed as tornado and thunderstorms rip through Mississippi

• Rescuers combed through rubble on Saturday after a powerful storm tore across Mississippi overnight, killing at least 25 people there and another in Alabama, leveling dozens of buildings and spawning at least one devastating tornado. The White House announced on Sunday that Joe Biden had ordered federal aid be provided to support local recovery efforts.

=> ↺ Weather service: Mississippi tornadoes deadliest since 2011

• With at least 25 people dead in Mississippi, tornadoes that ravaged parts of the Deep South overnight were the deadliest in the state in more than a decade. That is according to National Weather Service records that say 31 people died in Mississippi in April 2011 during tornadoes that tore through several states. Alabama was hit hardest during that so-called “super outbreak” of twisters that killed more than 320 people. A sheriff in Alabama on Saturday reported one storm-related death. Records show that 12 people died in Mississippi during Easter storms in April 2020, and 10 died in the state during a tornado event in April 2014.

=> ↺ After tornado, harrowing tales of survival in Mississippi

• Residents of rural Mississippi have recounted harrowing tales of survival after a deadly tornado tore through the state Friday night. In the tiny town of Silver City in the western part of the state, homes were ripped right off their foundations, leaving scattered piles of debris in their wake. About 30 miles away, the small town of Rolling Fork was also flattened. Residents described seeking refuge in bathtubs and hallways and covering loved ones with their bodies as the twister surged around them. Officials say the tornado killed at least 25 people in Mississippi and one person in Alabama as it surged nearly 170 miles across the Deep South.

=> ↺ Daunting recovery underway in tornado-devastated Mississippi

• Help began pouring into one of the poorest regions of the U.S. after a deadly tornado tore a path of destruction in the Mississippi Delta. President Joe Biden has issued an emergency declaration for the state.

=> ↺ Daunting Recovery Underway in Tornado-Devastated Mississippi

• Help began pouring into one of the poorest regions of the U.S. after a deadly tornado tore a path of destruction in Mississippi even as furious new storms struck Georgia

=> ↺ Churches Provide Solace in Tornado-Ravaged Mississippi Delta

• Many residents in one of the Mississippi towns hit hardest by devastating tornadoes found solace in their church communities Sunday

=> ↺ Mining giants push for international carbon offsets in safeguard mechanism

• Major oil and gas companies are calling for access to international carbon offsets, which analysts say could reduce the price and make it easier to produce fossil fuels.

=> ↺ Block Gas Alliance Blocks Private Airport in Vienna

• “Behind closed doors, the gas lobby wants to impose its destructive fossil fuel interests once again,” the climate activists denounced.

=> ↺ Survivors of Cyclone Freddy in Malawi Yearn for Fresh Start

• Currently, there are 577 evacuation camps spread across the country, providing shelter for the displaced population.

=> ↺ ‘There’s nothing left’: Deep South tornadoes kill 26

• Rescuers raced Saturday to search for survivors and help hundreds of people left homeless after a powerful tornado cut a devastating path through Mississippi, killing at least 25 people and injuring dozens. The tornado flattened entire blocks and obliterated houses in at least one Mississippi Delta town as it carved a path of destruction for more than an hour. Another person was killed in Alabama. The tornado flattened entire blocks of the small town of Rolling Fork, reducing homes to piles of rubble, flipping cars on their sides and toppling the town’s water tower. Residents hunkered down in bath tubs as the tornado struck and later broke into a John Deere store that they converted into a triage center for the wounded.

=> ↺ Demonstrator in critical state after clashes with police at French water reservoir protest

• A protester with trauma to the head was fighting for his life on Sunday after clashes with police during a demonstration over water storage facilities in France, a prosecutor said.

Overpopulation

=> ↺ In China, Marriage Rates Are Down and ‘Bride Prices’ Are Up

• China’s one-child policy has led to too few women. Grooms are now paying more money for wives, in a tradition that has faced growing resistance.

Finance

=> ↺ Swiss regulator mulls Credit Suisse disciplinary action after emergency rescue

• Swiss financial regulator Finma is probing how to hold bosses at Credit Suisse to account following its emergency takeover by rival UBS, a media report said on Sunday.

=> ↺ WATCH: Alternative Solutions to the Banking Crisis – #SolutionsWatch

• Ellen Brown, frequent Corbett Report guest and author of The Web of Debt and Banking on the People: Democratizing Money in the Digital Age, joins James to discuss her latest articles on the bank runs that are leading us toward the event horizon of the quadrillion-dollar derivative black hole.

=> ↺ First Citizens said to be near deal for Silicon Valley Bank: report

• First Citizens BancShares Inc (FCNCA.O) was in advanced talks to acquire Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and close to making a deal.

=> ↺ Canadian firm plans to buy Russian-owned Helsinki shipyard

• The shipyard, which is suffering from financial problems due to sanctions on Russia, has been long been seeking a new owner.

=> ↺ ASX trades up as nerves steady on Wall Street

• The Australian sharemarket lifted on Monday after Wall Street steadied and concerns alleviated around the domestic financials sector.

=> ↺ President Macron Not To Back Down Over Reforms Despite Protests

• “Popular discontent with the pension reform does not mean we will withdraw the approval of other unpopular reforms, which are highly necessary,” Veran said.

=> ↺ French pension protests: Brav-M, the special police unit accused of brutality

• They ride in pairs, are armed with handguns, expandable batons and tear gas grenades, and have been specially trained to prevent protests from spiralling out of control. But since France’s pension protests began, officers belonging to France’s special Brav-M motorbike unit have increasingly been accused of taking the law into their own hands, intimidating and threatening people, and in some cases, resorting to the use of excessive force.

=> ↺ ‘Some officers think everything is allowed’: Sociologist deplores French police brutality

• Tensions are rising in France after President Emmanuel Macron in a televised interview Wednesday refused to compromise on the government’s controversial pension reform bill. As peaceful demonstrations turn to social unrest, police forces are picking up their batons and using them on protesters.

=> ↺ Complacent mortgage holders stung by higher rates

• Rapid interest rate rises have spurred a refinancing boom but many borrowers are still paying the price for their complacency.  Almost a quarter of all borrowers are paying 6.5 per cent or more on their variable rate loans, based on Canstar modelling, which is 1.81 per cent higher than the cheapest loan rate.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ How Republicans Are Handling Trump’s Possible Indictment

• The responses to Alvin Bragg’s Stormy Daniels case may not offer the best guide to navigating the former President’s legal troubles.

=> ↺ Obamas land in Sydney

• Former US President Barack Obama has touched down in Sydney ahead of a scheduled speaking tour alongside wife Michelle.

=> ↺ What Did We Learn From Trump’s Waco Rally? He’s Stuck in the Past.

• Trump is still fighting old battles. But Republicans have moved on to their own war, a new war, a culture war.

=> ↺ At the Waco Rally and Beyond, Trump’s Movement Now Commands Him

• It’s clear who runs the GOP now.

=> ↺ Trump invokes Jan. 6 at Waco rally ahead of possible charges

• A defiant and incendiary Donald Trump, facing a potential indictment, held the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign Saturday in Waco, Texas, a city made famous by deadly resistance against law enforcement.

=> ↺ ‘Not a crime’: Trump dismisses NY probe at first 2024 campaign rally in Texas

• Donald Trump staged his first presidential campaign rally in Texas Saturday, brushing off his potential indictment as he railed against multiple criminal probes threatening his bid for the White House.

=> ↺ Trump suggests DA “dropped” Stormy Daniels case after Waco rally

• Former President Trump, who said last week he would be arrested in a probe into alleged hush money he paid to a porn star, now suggests the case might be dropped by Manhattan’s district attorney.

=> ↺ Rep. Comer: DOJ should handle probe into Trump hush money payment

• Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s probe of former President Trump should instead be handled by the Department of Justice, House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.

=> ↺ Trump didn’t make up arrest prediction, his lawyer says

• Former President Trump’s prediction last weekend that he would be arrested on Tuesday wasn’t made up, his lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday.

• Driving the news: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating a hush money payment allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, and reports continue to circulate that an indictment in the case could be imminent.

=> ↺ Biden nominee to lead FAA withdraws amid GOP opposition

• Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has withdrawn his nomination amid Republican opposition.

• Driving the news: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called Washington an “excellent nominee” and condemned the “undeserved” partisan attacks against him in a tweet confirming the news Saturday night.

=> ↺ The DeSantis conundrum

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ biggest political asset is that he’s viewed favorably by nearly all of the Republican Party’s voters — across the ideological spectrum.

• Yes, but: His biggest challenge is that those sky-high approval numbers are likely to falter now that he’s sparring with former President Trump — and as he makes tough decisions on where he stands on hot-button national issues.

=> ↺ Elon Musk Values Twitter at $20 Billion

• The billionaire bought the social media company for $44 billion in October and took it private.

=> ↺ Twitter Says Parts of Its Source Code Were Leaked Online

• The leak adds to the challenges facing the Elon Musk-owned company, which is trying to identify the person responsible and any other people who downloaded the code.

=> ↺ Suspect in Zyskowicz attack questioned, placed under arrest

• A veteran Finnish politician was slightly injured in a suspected anti-Semitic assault on Saturday. A decision on whether to remand the suspect will be made within the next two days.

=> ↺ Let them eat bugs! EU’s foes have a new conspiracy theory

• From Italy’s Matteo Salvini to Britain’s Nigel Farage, self-proclaimed defenders of tradition say there’s a plan afoot to make the public dine on crickets, locusts and grasshoppers.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ Kazakh Journalist Who Rejected Election Results Launches Hunger Strike In Jail

• Kazakh journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim has launched a hunger strike as he serves a 25-day jail term over his plan to hold a rally to protest the official results of this month’s parliamentary and local elections.

=> ↺ Putin Arrest Warrant Gives Russian Journalist Hope For Resistance

• Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova said the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin has given her “some sort of hope” that resistance might be sparked within the country’s elite.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ The Cell Phone Is a Pair of Red High Heels

• Edward curtin It is comical how easily one can be ignored for pointing out that new technology is dangerous and fetishistic.  So-called “smart” cell phones are a prime example.  For years I have been pointing out their dangers on many levels. To say most people are devoted to them is an understatement.

=> ↺ Kenya police ban government protests following student protester’s death

• Kenya’s police chief Sunday announced a ban on opposition protests scheduled for Monday. The ban comes in the wake of last week’s protests, which devolved into riots.

=> ↺ India dispatch: disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Parliament after defamation conviction could doom opposition to PM Modi in upcoming elections

• Indian law students are reporting for JURIST on law-related developments in and affecting India. This dispatch is from Samar Veer, a third-year law student at National Law University, Delhi.  

=> ↺ First Hong Kong protest since 2020 held under tight police restrictions

• The first protest since the introduction of the 2020 National Security Law in Hong Kong was held Sunday in Tseung Kwan O, an eastern area of Hong Kong. Protestors marched against the implementation of a new land reclamation plan but did so in compliance with certain restrictions imposed by authorities.

=> ↺ Sedition cases are supposed to be rare in Hong Kong… or were until recently

• Chui Chun-man, who was sentenced to ten months in prison last Monday for sedition, must be among the least likely convicts to attract sympathy.

=> ↺ Feira @ the Global Gathering

• You can now apply for the Global Gathering Feira, a 3-day social and networking festival space for digital rights defenders!

=> ↺ Civic-centric digital transformation: international conference

• The conference is organized in the spirit of an inclusive and efficient digital transformation based on the needs of the citizens, which leaves no space for the undermining of human rights and dignity, nor digital exclusion of any community.

Monopolies

=> ↺ KOL408 | Soul of Enterprise #432: Abolishing IP [sic]

• Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 408.

• This is my appearance on The Soul of Enterprise, Episode 432, with hosts Ed Kless and Greg Tirico. Recorded Friday, March 24, 2023. Their shownotes are below.

• Ron and Ed recently welcomed patent attorney and advocate for abolishing intellectual property, Stephan Kinsella to the show. We explored what is (and is not) intellectual property and then had a conversation about why Stephan thinks these forms of property should not exist and why the world would be better if they did not.

Copyrights

=> ↺ Judge Rules Online Archive’s Book Service Violated Copyright

• A federal judge has sided with four publishers who sued an online archive over its unauthorized scanning of millions of copyrighted works and offering them for free to the public. Judge John G. Koeltl of U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled that the Internet Archive was producing ”derivative” works that required permission of the copyright holder.

=> ↺ Meet the Indian artists advancing a new era of independent music

• Anyone who has been exposed to Bollywood culture could argue that contemporary mainstream Indian artists produce the same type of music with little experimentation — either catchy feel-good pop tunes or cliche love songs.

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ Sunset! 2023-03-25 (Fairbanks, AK, USA)

• I felt bad that my wife is not usually able to come along on these sunset chasing adventures, since one of us has to stay with the kids, so I decided to bring the whole family along this evening. I could only think of a few decent parking spots with the right view for this, so I settled on Hot Springs Gas, a gas station a little east of Fairbanks, which has a decent view to the west, and also a bathroom and snacks for children. It almost goes without saying that trying to watch the sunset while trapped in a vehicle with three young children for 50 minutes is far from a tranquil experience.

=> ↺ Rain, rain, rain

• It rained most of Wednesday and Thursday, and all day yesterday and today. I’m wondering if it’s going to wash away all the cherry blossoms. The trees are out in full bloom now.

=> ↺ Do I need Windows

• Not the operating system, but the display concept. Do I actually need them?

• I’ve been thinking a bit about my computing setup, primarily, how I plan to reconfigure my desktop machine to move off of Manjaro. It has been “fine”, but I’ve found delays and fuck ups from their end, and some “choices” they’ve made to just not align with my personal computing preferences.

• // FWIW, I’m the type of gal that expects my computer to work the same every time I boot it. If you, computer, decide to update something that I didn’t explicitly authorize in the updater? See Ya!! And Ubuntu, and now Manjaro have broken that rule. Which is often why I stick to mainline distros like Debian, or Arch + a DE and not get “out of the box” type stuff, since that’s someone/group controlling the direction, and I’m perfectly capable of doing nothing thanks

=> ↺ What a nice day

• It was a really nice 22c/71f today; it was nice and sunny and HOT. I had to run to the store around lunch time and I was hot wearing a thin jacket. Kids on the street were in T-shirts and shorts. Too bad it’s going to rain the rest of the week :/

• Also at lunch was the news that Japan won the WBC (World Baseball Classic.) It was, of course, all over the TV on most of the channels. I checked the news back home but the only bit there was this story way down the page. It took a while to find it cnn.com, too.

Technical

=> ↺ Gave up TWTXT

• After some time of trying I have decided that TWTXT is not for me. In its current form it shares many negatives of other social networks while almost nothing to offer (for me). Unlike the Gopher, it’s useless on older computers (SSL is required for most people’s files).

• I don’t say I will not try it once more in future but at the moment I have no use for it.

=> ↺ systemd, a Retrospective

• Ah, systemd. More or less this was Linux under new management, same as the old management. For example, systemd on RedHat Enterprise 7 (2014) had a charming feature where, sometimes, it would fail to shutdown a host, and one would eventually stride to the server room and apply the Paperclip of +3 System Slaying. Such already unbent paperclips had been hung on the racks for exactly this purpose. RedHat 7 (2000) also had this feature. Folks with money might have remote management, or maybe a data centre tech would be wandering about Europe at 2 AM as one kept the Sev-1 line informed of their progress. Regardless, there was a manual reset because of a wedge at shutdown. Different clowns, same act.

• [..]

• That systemd generated more than 20 log lines by default for each and every mailman cron job on RHEL7 was charming. What was the point of all that log spam? I forget how I squelched it; RedHat Linux is fairly maintenance heavy.

• [...]

• The past tense means I haven’t really touched Linux in a while; there is an Alpine Linux virt under vmd(8) somewhere, gently unused. And a big-endian Debian MIPS qemu thing used even less to test that code does not assume little-endian. OpenBSD gets the complexity and maintenance needs just about right.

=> ↺ Monitor your remote host network quality using smokeping on OpenBSD

• If you need to more the network quality of a link, or the network availability of a remote host, I’d recommend you to take a look at Smokeping.

=> ↺ Emphasis vs Italics

• Same goes for strong and b.

• I like that it gives you a choice between _ and *, that they mean the same thing, and that you can mix and match them, and that double means stronger. That was a good design decision that was a lot easier to remember than the other markup formats I was using before. So solutions where “_ is cite and * is em” are no good, especially when they don’t fix things like Linnaean names.

• I suggest that Markdown installations that do allow fallthrough HTML should stick with em and strong as the default, since those are the most common cases and fallthrough HTML can handle the special cases, but Markdown installations on online forums that disable fallthrough HTML (i.e. where Markdown is used in lieu of bbcode or Wiki syntax), it should generate i and b instead of em and strong. It’s less wrong.

=> ↺ Announce: release of run-many=1.0.0

• I just uploaded first release of “run-many” tool that is standalone implementation of colored interleaved output like “docker-compose up” or “devenv up”.

=> ↺ Signal Corps Sergeant 1st Class

• I was just looking at an old photo of my great grandfather. He was in the 99th aero squad in WWI, which I think I’ve written about previously. Maybe not.

• In any case, I noticed that in this photo, he had handwritten the names and ranks of the people around him, who were all officers. But, none of them had sleeve insignia, except him. He didn’t bother writing his own name or rank, of course. Saving the memories for himself, I think.

=> ↺ Will I outlive NetBSD?

• I was recently reading a detailed account of Apple UNIX, a Macintosh-compatible UNIX operating system published by Apple for Macintosh computers with m68k CPUs. The account appeared to have been written in 2001, based on one screenshot of the author’s PC desktop. The account concludes by recommending that operators of m68k-based Macintosh computers who wish to run UNIX on their machines find an alternative to Apple UNIX for a number of reasons. They recommend NetBSD.

=> ↺ Fedora Deprecates Legacy BIOS Installs

• As of release 37, Fedora has deprecated legacy BIOS installs [0] - you can still boot and presumably upgrade an existing OS install over the network, but you can no longer install it fresh.

• I think the biggest issue with this decision for me is the lack of awareness around e-waste and re-purposing of old hardware that may have many years of useful life left. I know I am not alone in that I mostly buy refurbished or older computers. I keep them for years and maintain them or replace parts in them as needed, and only junk them when they are truly dead.

=> ↺ Trisquel 11 on a New Desktop

• I needed to replace my aging desktop, which is my daily driver for work, so last week I purchased a refurbished “business desktop” with four CPU cores, a large SSD and plenty of RAM (32GB), which is more computing power than I have ever had. My old desktop has half that amount of RAM with a SATA HDD, and was beginning to groan under the weight of all the web-based and other apps I’m forced to use while at work. Things like Google apps and Slack were noticeably sluggish.

Internet/Gemini

=> ↺ What happened to index.gmi?

• I am quite sure that Gemini server on tilde.pink user to serve directory index automatically, now I have to regenerate “index.gmi” manually. I understand that it makes server simpler which is good, but that broke by dist/ directory, which is bad. Did I miss an announcement?

=> ↺ Tinylog

• I had a feeling looking at my capsule that there should be a last time stamp for every section. Because without that reader must check every link if there was any change. So I implemented a script for that…

=> ↺ Gophersphere is (still!) volatile

• Gophersphere was crowded at the beginning of the 90s. And it was empty at the end of the same decade. We are aware that most of that content was lost. The only archive which is available is from 2007 and we are naming it The Wayback Machine. The same as that from Internet Archive. But Internet Archive which is operating The Wayback Machine for WWW has 802 billion web pages, not some small amount of final stage content of Gophersphere. Probably there isn’t any other backup of Gophersphere from the earlier years. And we can only weep for that.

• Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It’s like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter. Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. Permalink  Send this to a friend

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