I bought my niece a keyboard. She turns 16 at the end of the month, and she is a budding writer and journalist. So when I was at Five Below a few weeks ago looking for other stuff, I saw a cute keyboard and bought it, a wireless Bluetooth typewriter-style keyboard. Look at it! It’sContinue reading “A Cute, but Non-Functional, Bluetooth Keyboard”
Category Archives: Life
Industrial Brutalism
Last year I developed a configuration for the CTWM window manager for Linux. It wasn’t anything remarkable, just an attempt at recreating the Linux Mint ethos in something that’s a lot older and far more retro, and I still use it to this day. It’s a retro, distraction free working environment. It’s not pretty, butContinue reading “Industrial Brutalism”
Adventures in Backgammoning
I was losing this game of backgammon badly, then I came back to win it, with white leaving five pieces on the board. How badly was I losing? At one point, I had five pieces pinned in white’s home quadrant, white offered a double or resign (and I did not resign), and white had alreadyContinue reading “Adventures in Backgammoning”
A Day at the Surgical Center
I have reached that age where I needed a colonoscopy. Frankly, I put it off for a year. Three weeks ago, after my annual physical, I called and made an appointment. I thought, “Oh, it’s September. They’ll put me on the calendar for November or December.” No, WellSpan could get me in right away. “HowContinue reading “A Day at the Surgical Center”
Lo, There Shall Come a Bird!
Sitting outside yesterday morning, drinking my coffee, I noticed a bird in the bushes outside my apartment’s front window. The bird wasn’t doing much, just poking his beak into the mulch. Looking for food, I guess. I gave the bird little thought. He’ll be on his way soon enough. I went inside. Half an hourContinue reading “Lo, There Shall Come a Bird!”
Trapped in a Past We Never Made
A few days ago the beta for Linux Mint 22 was approved for release, and while it hasn’t been officially announced yet I downloaded it off one of the mirrors to take a look at over the weekend. But not the usual Cinnamon edition, or the XFCE edition (which I use on my Chromebook). IContinue reading “Trapped in a Past We Never Made”
Operating System Archaeology
About a month ago, digging into the drawers of my desk, I found a stack of old Linux install CDs. Mostly Linux Mint — versions 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, a couple of others I can’t remember off the top of my head — and an Ubuntu 8.04 CD. Ubuntu 8.04! The first Linux IContinue reading “Operating System Archaeology”
Going Retro
As we approach the year 2024, there’s really no need for this. I installed CTWM, an old X11 window manager from the early early 90s, on Linux Mint, and it’s not the first time I’ve done this. CTWM is the sort of thing I read about in Byte in those days and never experienced forContinue reading “Going Retro”
August, Sunset
Dark Brandon Delivers
This morning I logged into Nelnet, my student loan servicer, and I was greeted by a wonderful surprise. My student loans from the University of Richmond, taken out twenty-five years ago, give or take, are gone. Paid off. Forgiven. I received an email about a month ago from the Department of Education. Hold on, letContinue reading “Dark Brandon Delivers”