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Joined 4 days ago
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Cake day: July 17th, 2026

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  • I have had a couple of instances where I updated a package through apt and those updates resulted in a binary which crashed on launch or a configuration/database error that prevented the binary from being launched, so it does happen.

    The fix was relatively simple and I had it working again in minutes, but I think it’s still worth consideration as a potential point of friction, especially for users who don’t have the ability or desire to fix their own systems.

    As an aside, I think you should want to know how to fix your system, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable for non-tech people to be able to install an OS they don’t have to periodically tinker with to get installed programs to launch correctly every time with no fuss.

    For so many people, tinkering is like washing the dishes and they simply don’t want to do it; an immutable system is like the dishwasher of tech purely in the sense that using it means that less effort is required from the user. I wouldn’t expect my non-tech wife to think Linux From Scratch would be a fun learning project (like I do), we are all different.

    Hope this comment isn’t too tangential, I’m trying as a person to be less rigid in my thinking about how people do things because I think it holds us back and, really, it’s a testament to the value of open source software that we have all of these options available. I wouldn’t want there only to be one way to run Linux.





  • So a few podcast apps support a service called gPodder, which provides cross-device syncing of subscriptions and episode progress, but the gPodder servers are slow and often time out, rendering the service useless.

    oPodSync is essentially a drop-in replacement for gPodder. My use case is that I listen to podcasts on both my desktop and my phone, and I want episodes to be seamlessly accessible on both devices without having to manually do anything.

    It’s very resource-light, so if you have any interest in podcasts at all it’s another piece of cool tech that gives you more control over your data. I used to use Player.FM, which is still a cool app, but I was paying them $13/year for a small handful of premium features I didn’t really think were worth that much.



  • I’ve been needing blood work done for literal years and I just keep putting it off or forgetting because I have ADHD. I am attempting to get it done this Wednesday because I have a doctor’s appointment next week. If I don’t get it done my doctor said I can’t get renewals on medication I need (including meds for ADHD lol) because the meds can cause all sorts of issues if you have high blood pressure or a high red blood cell count, etc. Womp.

    If you’re open to an idea for your cats, what I’ve done is condition my cats to expect that they will be fed only when a specific alarm tone goes off at 5pm and at 9pm (my wife feeds them in the morning). I started doing it because they were whining for food at 3pm (2 hours early!) and it was so annoying, which seems similar to your situation. For best results, feed them immediately after the alarm and stay consistent. If you want to change the alarm tone later, go ahead, but expect confusion at first.



  • You could look into:

    • SearXNG (aggregated search engine)
    • Mealie (recipe collection & meal planning)
    • CryptPad (replaces Google Drive)
    • oPodSync (gPodder-compatible podcast syncing server)
    • Sure or Actual (personal finance tracking)
    • Diun or Watchtower (container update tracker; IIRC Watchtower auto-updates by default, Diun does not)

    Thanks for posting, I gotta add the random facts to my Glance dashboard now.



  • I can give you an anecdote to answer your question, but it’s in the inverse: I recently moved from a 2-storey apartment in a sprawling city block 10 minutes from downtown to an 8-storey building near a farm in the same city.

    The level of ambient summer heat that I deal with now is drastically lower in comparison (probably close to 3-5°C) because of the increase in airflow and that helps to reduce thermal loading and urban heat trapping, which result from the effects of convection and radiation on the buildings in the area.

    For some background, thermal load is basically the amount of heat energy present in a given area or object and urban heat trapping is essentially when a high thermal load in an urban area has an overall warming effect.


  • I’m not convinced that landlords’ collusion to fix the cost of rent is the “careful calculation” that you’re describing. From my perspective, it’s quite the easy choice for them to extract more money instead of less money.

    I only potentially benefit from an overall market reduction in rent (which rarely occurs) if I move to a new apartment because they refuse to negotiate a lease renewal at a lower rate.


  • I actually prefer XMPP. It’s also less of a hassle to set up than Matrix and the protocol is much more mature. There are still issues, but it’s rather functional for audio and video calls (if you’re using a supported client).

    Edit: For clients, I use Cheogram on Android and Profanity (which is a TUI) or DinoX (for calls) on Linux.


  • I am able to “visualize” the spatial distance between objects. I put it in quotes because it’s generally blurry 2D lines (top down, like a schematic) or purely based on the relationship between those objects (i.e., I don’t “see” anything, it’s based on memory and spatial awareness of an environment I experienced using all of my senses).

    These “visuals” are static and can’t really be manipulated in any way except to zoom in or rotate a little, maybe 45 degrees max. This is also why, during reasoning assessments for jobs, I take forever to answer those questions where they show you a shape, then disassemble the shape and ask you to select which set of faces it’s based on. It’s excruciating.

    In real life I don’t have much of a problem; in fact, I have an excellent sense of direction that my wife envies because she’s the opposite (great mental visualisation and vivid dreams, but no idea where she is most times).