The last month has felt like a year, and I spent Saturday decompressing. And Sunday. And what’s a fun way to decompress? Play with Linux! First, I wanted a terminal-based music player for my Debian CTWM install, so I installed MOC. Then, I wanted a terminal-based email client. I tried Neomutt first, and after anContinue reading “Terminal Madness”
Author Archives: Allyn Gibson
Carl Sagan, on His Ninetieth Birthday
Carl Sagan, the astronomer and writer, would have turned 90 today. When I was seven, I watched Cosmos on PBS with my dad. In many ways, I credit my atheism to this formative experience. (Also formative, the Ichthus Christian music festival, but that doesn’t have anything to do with Sagan.) Sagan died in December 1996,Continue reading “Carl Sagan, on His Ninetieth Birthday”
Election Day
I voted before work this morning. I live in one of those lauded-slash-dreaded swing states. There was a time–2008? 2012?–I wanted Ohio nuked from orbit. It was the only way to be sure. Now I want myself nuked from orbit. I registered to attend a Kamala Harris rally in Harrisburg last week, but didn’t go.Continue reading “Election Day”
A Cute, but Non-Functional, Bluetooth Keyboard
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”
Signs of Autumn
Nothing exciting, just a few photos of the autumn foliage.
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!”
WordPress Drama and Coding Frustrations
There is Capital-D Drama in the WordPress world. It would take too long to explain all the nuances. Basically, founder Matt Mullenweg is Big Mad that he tried to shake down a rival and failed, and his resulting temper tantrum is damaging the WordPress ecosystem to the point where the best thing might be forContinue reading “WordPress Drama and Coding Frustrations”