chore: extract old blog posts to section

58 files changed, 1617 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/content/blog/2023/a-short-update-on-my-workman-layout-experiment.md b/content/blog/2023/a-short-update-on-my-workman-layout-experiment.md
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index 0000000..1b85e9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/a-short-update-on-my-workman-layout-experiment.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "A Short Update on My Workman Layout Experiment"
+category: varia
+abstract: I first need to be able to use all my fingers
+date: 2023-03-17T10:41:12+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Workman
+- QWERTY
+- finger-mobility
+---
+I am back at QWERTY. I was trying to learn Workman, but an unforeseen problem arrived: my pinkies, especially the right one. I have terrible mobility using my small fingers, so proper touch-typing is challenging. 
+
+For now, I am trying to use all fingers using QWERTY, so one problem at a time. When (if?) I will be able to use all ten fingers comfortably, I'll return to alternative keyboard layouts. Workman was really lovely!
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/ai-generated-artwork-looses-copyright-protection.md b/content/blog/2023/ai-generated-artwork-looses-copyright-protection.md
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index 0000000..acf88f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/ai-generated-artwork-looses-copyright-protection.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+title: "AI Generated Artwork Looses Copyright Protection"
+category: varia
+abstract: You can no longer claim copyright over something you did not create 
+date: 2023-02-24T11:11:58+01:00
+year: 2023 
+draft: false
+tags:
+- AI
+- Machine-Learning
+---
+Today's most important news, even if you (just like me) have never even been to the USA. Via [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/02/us-copyright-office-withdraws-copyright-for-ai-generated-comic-artwork/)
+> Based on the record before it, the Office concludes that the images generated by Midjourney contained within the Work are not original works of authorship protected by copyright.
+
+So, anyone can still use auto-generated images, but they can not be copyrighted. It makes sense, especially given the reasoning:
+
+> Though she claims to have “guided” the structure and content of each image, the process described in the Kashtanova Letter makes clear that it was Midjourney—not Kashtanova—that originated the “traditional elements of authorship” in the images.
+
+As a software engineer I wonder it this will be expanded to auto-generated code.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/all-hail-my-new-trackpoint-overlord.md b/content/blog/2023/all-hail-my-new-trackpoint-overlord.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a90842e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/all-hail-my-new-trackpoint-overlord.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+title: "All Hail My New TrackPoint Overlord!"
+category: hardware
+abstract: ThinkPad touch pad is useless so I move to TrackPoint
+date: 2023-02-11T17:34:24+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- ThinkPad
+- TrackPoint
+- touchpad
+---
+Hey, guess what? It's another ThinkPad update!
+
+I don't know if it's the device or how Linux handles it, but the touch pad is terrible. I get more unexpected movements of the cursor than expected. In Firefox, the scroll two-finger gesture very often ends in zoom control. The button underneath the touch pad is stiff and not pleasurable to use. Say what you will about Macbooks, but they mastered the touch pad.
+
+So, I've done what any sane neckbeard would do and disabled it completely. When I'm in laptop mode, I'm using TrackPoint, and when docked, I rely on a trusty old mouse either way.
+
+{{< img-center "22-thinkpad-nub.jpg" "ThinkPad's TrackPoint">}}
+
+And boy, does Trackpoint has a stiff learning curve. Having the cursor move in the expected direction is easy, but having any precision? Contrary to any logic, the speed is not controlled by the horizontal force but by the vertical. So, one needs to press the nib more and not lean it more. Or at least I think so. 
+
+But here I am, two days after relying only on TrackPoint, and it's near the point when I'll actually enjoy it.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/always-have-the-entire-network-in-mind.md b/content/blog/2023/always-have-the-entire-network-in-mind.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f95fa51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/always-have-the-entire-network-in-mind.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+title: "Always Have the Entire Network in Mind"
+category: engineering
+abstract: fixing torrent by fixing the network config
+date: 2023-03-08T14:46:19+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- deluge
+- rtorrent
+- synology
+- unify
+- firewall
+- sysadmin
+---
+{{<img-pull-right "bittorrent-logo.png" "BitTorrent 4 lyfe">}}
+Recently I moved my torrenting from Synology's Download Station to dedicated programs inside Docker - first Deluge, now rTorrent. And it was slow, impossibly slow. Those clients even had problems getting the real names of the torrents, not to mention connecting to any clients.
+
+Guess what the problem was.
+
+Of course, as always, it was the sysadmin. 
+
+Synology is plug-and-play enough to use UPnP. My poor docker-locked clients did not. I needed to create a forwarding rule on my router which would point the port to the Synology and configure Docker to forward the port to the Docker container.
+
+I am not a smart admin.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/ars-article-on-apple-lisa.md b/content/blog/2023/ars-article-on-apple-lisa.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b656ed1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/ars-article-on-apple-lisa.md
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+---
+title: "Ars Technica's Article on Apple Lisa"
+category: computer-history
+abstract: Steve Jobs at his best!
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-20T11:40:55+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: ['apple', 'retro-computing', 'Apple-Lisa', 'Ars-Technica', 'links']
+---
+> Forty years ago today, a new type of personal computer was announced that would change the world forever. Two years later, it was almost completely forgotten.
+
+For a long time I've in ave of long form published on Ars Technica. This time is no different.
+
+What strikes me the most is how much of the UI we see now in latest MacOS dates back to Lisa's
+design.
+
+[You can read the full article on Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/revisiting-apples-ill-fated-lisa-computer-40-years-on/)
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/augumented-plain-text.md b/content/blog/2023/augumented-plain-text.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..45d6cc1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/augumented-plain-text.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+title: "Augumented Plain Text"
+category: emacs
+abstract: Adding stuff on top of text
+date: 2023-04-16T19:42:49+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- plain-text
+- email
+- org-mode
+- org-roam
+---
+I firmly believe that [plain text](/tags/plain-text) is the only format that matters. Let's ignore multimedia for now. I want all my data to be a text file. A parsable text file. If I want it to be encrypted or compressed, I can do that myself.
+
+One of the cooler use cases of plan-text is [Org Mode](https://orgmode.org/). However, recently I've discovered [Org Roam](https://www.orgroam.com/), which augments it with SQLite while still being solely based on text files. The notes are just plain old .org files. But to make connections between notes (and since it's based on [Zettelkasten](https://zettelkasten.de/), there will be lots and lots of references), the extension creates an SQLite database. 
+
+Ingenious. The database is just an addition to make it easier to work 
+the meat is still just a text file.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/big-tech-is-winning-the-web.md b/content/blog/2023/big-tech-is-winning-the-web.md
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index 0000000..9fe838e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/big-tech-is-winning-the-web.md
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+---
+title: "Big Tech Is Winning the Web"
+category: internet
+abstract: Big Tech became the standarizing body for the web
+date: 2023-04-02T15:55:49+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Internet
+- big-tech
+- W3
+- Firefox
+- Google
+- Netflix
+- Youtube
+---
+*on a train back to [Cracow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w)*
+
+This time the train is much more modern. 
+
+{{<img-center "modern-cart.jpg" "it's so clean">}}
+
+In the meantime, Hacker News pointed me to an [article](https://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/web/AvoidingHTTP3ForNow) by Chris Siebenmann:
+> If you can't reach us because of something in your ISP, we have a problem; if you can't reach GMail for the same reason, your ISP has a problem.
+
+I am also afraid of how much big tech has become the de facto standard body for the internet. Let's face it: whatever Google does, anyone will have to go along with it. Netflix and YouTube already broke any chance for a new modern rendering engine by mobbing for the introduction of DRM. We've already seen YT breaking Firefox by ignoring standards and going all-in with Chrome.
+
+We need a standardizing body that is entirely not backed by any existing player or government. W3 was like that, but nowadays, they are nothing but a husk of their former self. Firefox foundation no longer focuses on the browser but on [completely random initiatives](https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/). 
+
+We are *this* close to losing the web. As end-users, we can do very little. [Not using Chrome](https://notochrome.org/) is a great start. Some of us working in the tech environment have a moral obligation always to convince people of power for open standards. And most importantly, if you publish on the web, you should have a webpage. Not a FB profile, but an actual, classic, good website. And since we're on the subject, [Indieweb](https://indieweb.org/) is a very cool initiative.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/eugen-rochkos-nationality-and-propaganda.md b/content/blog/2023/eugen-rochkos-nationality-and-propaganda.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d4b904
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/eugen-rochkos-nationality-and-propaganda.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+title: "Eugen Rochko's nationality and propaganda"
+category: "varia"
+abstract: Some political thoughts
+date: 2023-04-29T23:12:53+02:00
+year: 
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Russia
+- Germiany
+- nationality
+- propaganda
+- Eugen-Rochko
+- politics
+---
+*This is a political piece. As a rule, I try to avoid such subjects. This will be one of the rare exceptions*
+
+Recently I've published a short piece [about Mastodon](/2023/mastodon-has-already-won/]) and one thing turned to be controversial:
+
+> Mastodon is a creation of a single Russian dude.
+
+It seems like his nationality is quite a delicate subject. According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Rochko), Eugen was born in Russia and lived there till 11. 11 years is a lot of time. 
+
+For me, your nationality is not who you are at this moment, but which country you developed in. It's about culture, roots, and general word view. This is why I consider him a Russian, just like I believe Skłodowska-Curie to be a Pole.
+
+But what's more important: it's ok to be a Russian, just as it is ok to be Jew, American, or a Nigerian. Somehow we started to call countries "good" or "bad". Is Russia on the wrong side of history now? It certainly seems so, as their invasion of Ukraine was met with hostility in most countries. But does it make the **country** evil? Russia has existed longer than Putin or Stalin (and I say it as a Pole). For me, countries are never good or bad. They are just controlled by evil or good people. So is America evil because of the invasion of Iraq, or is Bush's administration's fault?
+
+Can we blame a random citizen for actions entirely out of this person's control? When it comes to modern-day Russia, it's often the case, but it's wrong. Even if the person *believes* the government's actions to be just, it's no reason to judge the person. Propaganda is a thing, and being its victim is terrifying. And every government does propaganda. If you believe what you think is always true, you are wrong, as you were persuaded about many things. It was true 500, 100, and 50 years ago, and it is even truer now, as the control of information is even easier for those in power. We **know** what Facebook does to public opinion in the USA, but we don't blame people who fall into that. How can we blame people who were indoctrinated their entire lives? 
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/foreshadowing-in-gurren-lagann.md b/content/blog/2023/foreshadowing-in-gurren-lagann.md
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index 0000000..0019459
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/foreshadowing-in-gurren-lagann.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+title: "Foreshadowing in Gurren Lagann"
+category: anime
+abstract: So much detail has hidden sense!
+date: 2023-02-14T11:33:14+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Gurren-Lagann
+- anime
+---
+I'm showing [Gurren Lagann](https://www.gurren-lagann.net/) to my wife. I watched it some 15 years ago, so my memory is far from perfect, but I remember some things. 
+
+{{<img-center "gurren-lagann-01.jpg" "Don't believe in yourself. Believe in me! Believe in the Kamina who believes in you!">}}
+
+We've seen only the first episode, but I was not expecting this much foreshadowing! Of course, some of it is world-building and toying around, but most of the episode will have a consequence in later episodes. Even the first scene, when one knows what will happen in the future, has so much detail which has hidden sense.
+
+> God gave us eyes at the front of our heads so we can look forward to the future.
+>
+> Kamina
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/how-did-phreaking-work.md b/content/blog/2023/how-did-phreaking-work.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf568d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/how-did-phreaking-work.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+title: "How Did Phreaking Work?"
+category: computer-history
+abstract: A short movie explaining how it worked.
+date: 2023-03-30T12:30:30+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- TIL
+- phreaking
+- hacking
+---
+Reading about people abusing machines to achieve anything was unbelievably cool when I was a kid. Back then, they were called hackers, but nowadays, this name is taken over by Russian kids encrypting data on hospital networks.
+
+One of those magical things was phreaking - a way to gain control over telephone networks. There [were brute force ways](https://youtu.be/Sy9DueBpHx8) and intelligent methods.
+
+A few days ago, [Connections Museum](https://www.youtube.com/@ConnectionsMuseum) published a vlog explaining how the [Blue Box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_box) worked. It's well worth the time!
+
+{{<youtube "8PmkUPBhL4U" "2600? How Phreaking Really Worked">}}
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/http-headers-in-rails-hyphens-and-underscores.md b/content/blog/2023/http-headers-in-rails-hyphens-and-underscores.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f872ebc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/http-headers-in-rails-hyphens-and-underscores.md
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+title: "HTTP Headers in Rails: Hyphens, Underscores, and a terrible day"
+category: engineering
+abstract: Rack modyfies incomming requests's headers!
+date: 2023-02-01T18:00:51+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- rack
+- Ruby-on-Rails
+- headers
+- magic
+---
+Everyone's favorite magician, Ruby on Rails, does it again.
+
+As it turns out, [Rack modifies incoming requests' headers](https://github.com/rails/rails/blob/aaf7bed00338c3a97dbb12b3c82a30ae34e67876/actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/headers.rb#L12) and normalizes they keys. So, every time the client/proxy sends something cool like `A-HEADER`, the key is modified, so some characters become underscore. Therefore in Rails code need to access `A_HEADER`, and if I had known that yesterday, my day would be much more pleasant.
+
+> Also note that when headers are mapped to CGI-like variables by the Rack	 
+>
+> server, both dashes and underscores are converted to underscores.
+>
+> (as [per documentation](https://github.com/rails/rails/blob/aaf7bed00338c3a97dbb12b3c82a30ae34e67876/actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/headers.rb#L12)
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/i-am-now-an-fsf-associate.md b/content/blog/2023/i-am-now-an-fsf-associate.md
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index 0000000..82b7752
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/i-am-now-an-fsf-associate.md
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+title: "I am now an FSF associate"
+category: "varia"
+abstract: I joied the Stallman's fanclub <3
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-10T17:15:33+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- FSF 
+- freedom
+- meta
+---
+As of January 2023 I am an associate of Free Software Fundation.
+
+{{< fsfbadge >}}
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/i-love-remote-work-and-i-am-toying-with-freebsd-jails.md b/content/blog/2023/i-love-remote-work-and-i-am-toying-with-freebsd-jails.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e0c44cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/i-love-remote-work-and-i-am-toying-with-freebsd-jails.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+title: "I love remote work, and I am toying with FreeBSD jails"
+category: "varia"
+abstract: On the joys of working from home
+date: 2023-03-24T14:37:45+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- remote-work
+- family
+- FreeBSD
+- FreeBSD-jails
+---
+We currently have an internal [company-wide](https://zendesk.com) conference, and remote collaboration is one of the subjects of interest. We've all noticed that we can not simply move the scrum method into cyberspace, as it assumes a lot of synchronous communication.
+
+I agree. There is a place for in-place collaboration, for meetings. And that place is called hell. 
+
+Before the pandemic, I was under the impression that I would be unable to work from home and miss the office. Oh, how wrong I was! There is nothing better for me than working from home. I am able to spend time with my four-year-old and with my wife. Lack of commute is one thing, but being present at all times? This is priceless. I dread the idea of an office.
+
+And it gives me time for myself. Not much (as all parents know), but still. I am moving all my local services into FreeBSD jails on my local server, which I will touch on here in a few days.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/i-still-run-local-applications.md b/content/blog/2023/i-still-run-local-applications.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..314f1a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/i-still-run-local-applications.md
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+---
+title: "I Still Run Local Applications"
+category: varia
+abstract: I refuse to put my life at the mercy of web apps
+date: 2023-03-10T06:51:46+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Emacs
+- Vim
+- GIMP
+- Neomutt
+- mbsybc
+- Irssi
+- IRC
+- RSS
+- cmus
+- privacy
+- Unix
+- javascript
+---
+{{<img-pull-right "old-man-yells-at-cloud.webp" "Grumpy Mc Grump">}}
+Javascript used to be cool. You could have a clock or snow raining on your site, and it was amazing. A small DHTML made it so much more lively.
+
+Then Google came with V8. Their vision for the future was to move all applications to the web. And they succeeded. I work at a [SASS](https://www.zendesk.com/), which makes a web app. I see the benefit for most people in using a web browser as their operating system, but I just refuse to do it myself as it limits my ability to tinker. 
+
+Nowadays, I choose to run my complete set of tools on the desktop as it makes me happy. I love the command line and having it all available without constant connection. I also think that the quality of desktop apps is much higher. But the most significant advantage is the Unix philosophy of small apps working together. You don't have small apps on the internet. Those I see range from big to gigantic. And making them work together takes a lot of engineering power. Why won't big companies leave Salesforce? Because they spent millions of dollars making them adjust to their needs. APIs are very limited compared to Unix-like piping. The design of web apps is aimed at basic usage and making sure the user has as many problems leaving as possible. Core utils from BSD or Linux have completely different goals. They are much more difficult to learn, but the possibilities are limitless after the curve is conquered. And since those apps are made to be small, swapping each one is extremely simple (like going from grep to [The Silver Searcher](https://geoff.greer.fm/ag/))
+
+My current roster of bigger apps is as follows:
+- Code editing: [Emacs](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/) and [Neovim](https://neovim.io/)
+- Email: [Notmuch](https://notmuchmail.org/) with Emacs as UI. Emails are synced to my machine via [mbsync](https://isync.sourceforge.io/mbsync.html)
+- Graphics: [GIMP](https://www.gimp.org/)
+- IRC: [Irssi](https://irssi.org/) and [Circe](https://github.com/emacs-circe/circe) inside Emacs
+- Ebooks: [nov.el](https://depp.brause.cc/nov.el/) inside Emacs
+- RSS reader: [Newsboat](https://newsboat.org/)
+- Music Player: [cmus](https://cmus.github.io/) playing local files.
+
+Those applications have a few things in common:
+
+- They run locally, and I only need Internet access if they work on data from the web. In 2023 if an app requires internet, it is tracking me.
+- They are small and fast. Emacs, being the behemoth here, is comparable to Slack. But it does a lot, while Slack is nothing more than a glorified IRC.
+- They don't require any subscription. Self-explanatory. I choose to pay for some of them, but generally, one can use (and own!) them without any cost.
+- They work from a terminal. I have problems focusing, and having youtube within two keystrokes is risky at the best of days.
+- They are either FOSS or Open Source. I am an associate of [GNU](https://www.gnu.org/) because I believe users should have the right to understand and modify their applications.
+
+Or as Maja, a coworker of mine, said:
+
+> You like to complicate things for yourself, don't you?
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/industrial-design-used-to-be-cool.md b/content/blog/2023/industrial-design-used-to-be-cool.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a22fe29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/industrial-design-used-to-be-cool.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: "Industrial Design Used to Be Cool"
+category: hardware
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-19T22:05:57+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- retro-tech
+- Sony
+- Sanyo
+- Philips
+- walkman
+---
+I am buying an mp3 player...or DAP, as they are called now. While searching, I was
+reminded how crazy and creative portable audio players looked in the late 90s/early 00s.
+<!--more-->
+
+{{< img-center "23-walkman-philips2.jpeg" "I used to have this model!" "https://archiwum.allegro.pl/oferta/walkman-philips-aq6562-i8508289712.html">}}
+
+{{< img-center "23-walkman-philips.jpeg" "It's so blue!" "https://allegrolokalnie.pl/oferta/walkman-philips-aq6492-6hr">}}
+
+{{< img-center "23-walkman-sanyo1.jpeg" "Have you ever seen something so beautiful?" "https://archiwum.allegro.pl/oferta/unikat-stary-walkman-sanyo-m-gr-78-1991r-nie-sony-i7751674779.html">}}
+
+{{< img-center "23-walkman-sanyo2.jpg" "One word: perfection" "https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/164801062384">}}
+
+{{< img-center "23-walkman-sony1.jpeg" "Yellow submarine?" "https://allegrolokalnie.pl/oferta/sony-wmb53-sports-walkman-kasetowy-wodoodporny">}}
+
+{{< img-center "23-walkman-sony2.jpg" "The original, of couse." "https://pl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plik:Original_Sony_Walkman_TPS-L2.JPG">}}
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/its-near-impossible-to-use-noscript-but-the-future-is-bright.md b/content/blog/2023/its-near-impossible-to-use-noscript-but-the-future-is-bright.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..32e1df7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/its-near-impossible-to-use-noscript-but-the-future-is-bright.md
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+---
+title: "It's Near Impossible to Use NoScript but the Future Is Bright"
+category: engineering
+abstract: My fight against the overuse of JS may not be futile
+date: 2023-03-12T06:03:22+01:00
+year: 2023 
+draft: false
+tags:
+- javascript
+- privacy
+- Hot-Wire
+- React
+- Next-js
+- Hugo
+- Internet
+- software-engineering
+- SSR
+- server-side-rendering
+---
+{{<img-pull-right "js-old-logo.png" "javascript">}}
+Speaking of [Javascript](/tags/javascript), I have tried to use NoScript for the last couple of weeks. My goal was to reduce my internet trail even more, as [PrivacyBadger](https://privacybadger.org/) and a few other extensions still leave a considerable chance to spy on me. In addition, I have a huge issue with allowing my computer to run random code without my consent. It's a security nightmare!
+
+Turns out, that JS has taken over the internet more than I anticipated. React became the primary building block of most of the internet. It doesn't matter if you see a single paragraph of text - you most like see what JS has rendered. This site uses JS for statistics, but it works based on HTML alone. This was always my goal—JS as a bonus, not a hard requirement. 
+
+JS is great for web applications - I can't disagree with it. It's the language for SASS companies - like the [one](https://zendesk.com) I work in. It has evolved a lot, and it's nice to use now. But it's so overused! 
+
+There are webpages where disabled JS breaks some functionality - mostly search (why are we waging war against ctrl+f?) or menu. It's terrible, but it gets much worse.
+
+There are now a lot (and I mean A LOT) of web pages where without JS, all you are able to see is a white background. Everything is rendered dynamically. Single Page Applications - very complex systems are used where a static HTML would be sufficient.
+
+But not all is lost. A few years ago, [Hot Wire](https://hotwired.dev/) came borrowing ideas from older frameworks, and it proposed a solution where you get a full HTML webpage from the backend, and then progressively on subsequent pages, your browser can fetch just the changed parts. It was not a novel idea; we've seen it all before. But it came from Basecamp, so it made a buzz on the interwebs. And the response was tragic. Younger developers raised on React thought of rendering webpages on the backend as something only graybeards would like. The backend is just to return JSON! And for all the dull business logic, of course.
+
+A few years have passed, and [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/) has a crazy idea of rendering React apps on the backend. And suddenly, it's all the rave. Who could have thought that showing just HTML may be faster than fetching megabytes of Javascript code? It even has a name for it now - Server Side Rendering. So we came full circle, just with the extra layer of complexity needed to make it work seamlessly. The added benefit is that since every subpage can be downloaded in any order, disabled JS doesn't break the entire webpage!
+
+This site is 80% there, as I use [Hugo](https://gohugo.ihttps://pagespeed.web.dev/report?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-s.sh%2Fo/) to generate static HTML files. All that's missing is a mechanism to not re-render the entire DOM on each subpage. But who needs it? It's a simple blog. The simpler, the better. Hugo + rsync, that's all. I still get perfect scores on [Google Speed Index](https://pagespeed.web.dev/report?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-s.sh%2F).
+
+The future is bright, but today is not. To actually browse the web, I need to constantly allow domains or even temporarily disable blocking in a given tab. And it's hell.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/joining-a-dos-game-club.md b/content/blog/2023/joining-a-dos-game-club.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22b13cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/joining-a-dos-game-club.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: "Joining a DOS gamers club"
+category: gaming
+abstract: AKA the BEST gaming era fanclub!
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-26T22:08:50+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- club
+- online-club
+- DOS
+- DOS-gaming
+- DOS-gamers-club
+- B-17
+- LHX
+- Discworld
+- Speedball-2
+- Star-Wars-Dark-Forces
+---
+Last year Wouter Groeneveld [wrote](https://brainbaking.com/post/2022/12/i-joined-the-dos-game-club/) about [DOS Game Club](https://www.dosgameclub.com/) and today, after watching them for some short time I've become a member.
+
+DGC is a monthly club where we play a selected DOS game and discuss it. The discussion occurs in forums and on IRC (notice lack of Disord!). In addition, after each game, a podcast is recorded with members talking about a game. I genuinely dig the formula - it's not too involved, but there is a community behind it.
+
+January was a month of [B-17 Flying Fortress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-17_Flying_Fortress_(video_game)). The only flying simulator I enjoyed was [LHX Attack Chopper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHX_Attack_Chopper). Most likely due to it being more arcadey than simulatory. 
+
+Next month we will be playing [Alien Legacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Legacy) from 1994. This is the first time I'm seeing this game. After that, the schedule moves to [Star Wars: Dark Forces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dark_Forces), [Discworld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_(video_game)) (oh no) and finally to [Speedball 2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speedball_2:_Brutal_Deluxe).
+
+A few days ago, I [posted a memory](/2023/my-first-computer/) about my first PC, which was a DOS machine. No Windows for me for the next few years! One of my [resolutions for 2023](/2023/resolutions-for-2023/) was joining online communities. Nice start!
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/joylessness-of-modern-web-design.md b/content/blog/2023/joylessness-of-modern-web-design.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15104d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/joylessness-of-modern-web-design.md
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+title: "Joylessness of Modern Web Design"
+category: engineering
+abstract: I think that websites have lost all resemblence of joyfullness and playfullness
+date: 2023-02-08T13:01:09+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- retro-computing
+- webdesign
+---
+Recently I stumbled upon [Web Design Museum](https://www.webdesignmuseum.org) collecting screenshots of webpages of the past.
+
+> Browse through the gallery of websites created between 1991 and 2006 and discover the forgotten web design trends.
+
+Quite sad how boring the internet of 2023 is. Every webpage looks (more or less) the same. All web apps are inspired by Material Design. Where is joy? Just look at how playful Mcdonald's looked in 1996. 
+
+{{<img-center "mcdonalds-1996.png" "mcdonalds.com in 1996. Most of the screen is blank, becasue why not?" "https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/gallery/mcdonald-s-1996">}}
+
+On the museum's website, we can see more [phases of the website's evolution](https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/gallery/mcdonald-s-1996). Unfortunately, with each next design, the joyfulness evaporates, and in 2012 or 2016 completely lost any pretense of personality. A similar story can be seen for [Lego](https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/gallery/lego-1996) or [Microsoft](https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/gallery/microsoft-1996) in a similar timeframe.
+
+I blame iPhone, as it all happened just a few years after its first reveal in 2007. Web designers could no longer assume that they have 1024 pixels on 15'' monitors. Now sites had to work on 4'' and 40''. No longer was a dedicated and precise cursor the default; everything had to be touchable with fat fingers. Just a few days ago, Google screamed at my small font footer. 
+
+Soon, I'll be recreating this website's layout as the current one results from the laziness of reactive design. How little can I design to assume it will be usable on all devices? Luckily, I wasn't so lazy that I would use the hamburger button, the worst thing for desktop usage. It makes the navigation easy to touch but hard to use, as everything is hidden. But I was just lazy enough to use one-column - and multi-column websites are the most incredible thing for computers! [Bruce Schneier](https://www.schneier.com/) puts so much essential info right in front of you that I can't stop myself from feeling at home. And it has web banners! And it works even on my tiny iPhone 13 mini. Are there any cons here? I don't think so.
+
+Bring back multi-column layouts!
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/keeping-browser-tabs-to-a-minimum.md b/content/blog/2023/keeping-browser-tabs-to-a-minimum.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b03d673
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/keeping-browser-tabs-to-a-minimum.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+title: "Keeping Browser Tabs to a Minimum"
+category: internet
+abstract: Mobile, as always, is terrible
+date: 2023-05-01T19:21:08+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- tabs
+- mobile
+- Firefox
+- Brave
+- Rubenerd
+---
+As a bit of a comment on a recent [Ruben's post](https://rubenerd.com/keeping-computer-stuff-open-or-closed/): yes, closing unused applications makes a lot of sense. But I also keep my open tabs count in the browser (Firefox for pleasure, Brave for work) to a minimum. In most cases, I am below 10. Sometimes 20, when I start too many things and don't stop them - like Youtube videos. I don't know how people avoid getting anxious about having 50, 70, or even 100 tabs. And, more importantly: why? Do you really need so many things at hand? I know some terrible web apps out there don't keep the state in the URL, so you can't simply use browser history, but 100?
+
+This, however, does not apply to mobile. Mobile has a million problems, and this is one of them.
+
+On iOS, you are penalized for closing an app, as a cold start is much slower than waking from hibernation. And even if you close it, the app can still track you. So disabling all background activity for all apps seems to be a must.
+
+Then there are mobile browsers. I use mobile Firefox, which is pretty much terrible (but it syncs history with my other machines. Sites like 9gag or The Verge break it (you can scroll down as JS blocks it, and without scrolling, the URL bar will not show, so  I need to refresh constantly), but also, the tabs management is a joke. There is no tab management. I constantly have over 100 tabs open because there is no easy way to close them. There is no tab bar, so I can't see them. There is no quick way to close multiple, so every few weeks [I declare bankruptcy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-m3RtoguAQ) and use the one button keeping all this madness - close all tabs. I waste resources because the tooling is not there.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/looom-audiodrama.md b/content/blog/2023/looom-audiodrama.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..003a0d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/looom-audiodrama.md
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+---
+title: "Looom Audiodrama"
+category: gaming
+abstract: Half an hours of Loom!
+date: 2023-04-08T23:22:22+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- Loom
+- Lucasarts
+- audio-drama
+- gaming
+- retro-gaming
+---
+There used to be an excellent adventure game from Lucasarts - [Loom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loom_(video_game)). However, did you know that there is an accompanying audio drama?
+
+{{<youtube "z5Wj5GOiJYg" "LOOM: Audio Drama - LOOM: Game Soundtrack">}}
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/macos-is-now-spying-even-more.md b/content/blog/2023/macos-is-now-spying-even-more.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..068c9f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/macos-is-now-spying-even-more.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+title: "Macos Is Now Spying Even More"
+category: varia
+abstract: Apple being best at being Apple.
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-23T10:40:53+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- Apple
+- privacy
+- MacOS
+- MacOS-Ventura
+---
+It's another case of Apple becoming a questionable company, and my "abandon the sinking fruit" plan seems to be just in time to see the lights go out.
+
+> Integrate this data and remember it: macOS now contains network-based spyware even with all Apple services disabled. It cannot be disabled via controls within the OS: you must used third party network filtering software (or external devices) to prevent it.
+
+> (via [Jeffrey Paul](https://sneak.berlin/20230115/macos-scans-your-local-files-now/)
+
+I trusted Apple as I believed that being actually privacy-oriented was in their best interest. I am not foolish enough to consider a multi-billion dollar company to be driven by any morality. Still, I was just foolish enough to believe that would follow their primary selling point. Post-Jobs Apple is a husk of its former self. Nothing is engaging in what they do. All they care about is locking users in their ecosystem and forcing them to subscribe to everything. This was the case for a long time, but they had privacy that the competition wholly ignored. Now it's apparent that it was nothing but a ploy to lock users completely, downplay the competition and show ads down the user's throats. It's 2023, and I see no reason to buy anything from Apple anymore.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/making-gmail-useful-by-removing-modern-gmail.md b/content/blog/2023/making-gmail-useful-by-removing-modern-gmail.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cef6f97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/making-gmail-useful-by-removing-modern-gmail.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+title: "Making Gmail Useful by Removing Modern Gmail"
+category: internet
+abstract: the old UI is still there, thanks Satan!
+date: 2023-02-19T07:28:19+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- Gmail
+- Google
+- Emacs
+- notmuch
+- mbsync
+---
+The current Gmail is barely usable. Everything is big, clumsy, and dull. And it has a loading screen. A webpage in 2023 with a loading screen!
+
+The best way to enjoy being forced to use Gmail is via a desktop app. My personal combo [mbsync](https://isync.sourceforge.io/mbsync.html) / [notmuch](https://notmuchmail.org/) / [emacs](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/) is relatively standard but still deserves it's own post.
+
+But recently, I've learned that the old, fast, cute Gmail web interface is still available! Just go to [https://mail.google.com/mail?ui=html](https://mail.google.com/mail?ui=html) and enjoy. It even defaults to writing in plain text, as all clients should.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/mastodon-activity-pub.md b/content/blog/2023/mastodon-activity-pub.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1423bed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/mastodon-activity-pub.md
@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+---
+title: "Mastodon and  ActivityPub"
+category: "engineering"
+abstract: Digging into Mastodon and Activity Pub
+date: 2023-06-09T21:16:39+02:00
+year: 
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Mastodon
+- ActivityPub
+- W3C
+- Social-Media
+---
+After lengthy deliberations, I joined Mastodon. This website still has an auto-posting account on Twitter[^twitter], but I don't read anything there. Mastodon, on the other hand, is an open-source set of communities without Elon. May be interesting
+[^twitter]: [Michal Sapka's blog on Twitter](https://twitter.com/d_s_blog)
+
+I was not sure which instance I wanted to join, but in the end, the list was limited to:
+https://bsd.network/
+https://emacs.ch
+
+The question was, am I more of an Emacs type of person or more of a BSD one? Well, I spend hours in Emacs daily, and I tinkered with it much more, so without further delay, you can find me under
+
+https://emacs.ch/@ms
+
+However, I am still against social media, as it warps the mind and steals time. I don't want Mastodon to take too much of my time and mind, so I have decided:
+- I will not use Mastodon on mobile
+- On the desktop, I will use it via an Emacs package[^emacs]
+- I will regularly evaluate if I get anything valuable from this service.
+[^emacs]: [mastodon.el code repository](https://codeberg.org/martianh/mastodon.el)
+
+For now, you can find me there, and I will respond to messages. We will see what the future brings. 
+
+This is also an excellent opportunity to learn about the underlying technology.
+
+### What is a Mastodon?
+
+Mastodon is a decentralized social media platform. Instead of a central server (think twitter.com), anyone can spin up their Mastodon instance. You can easily create one for bread bakers, Emacs users, or your neighborhood.
+
+What is cool and what makes Mastodon interesting is the fact that a user exists on a given instance (like me on emacs.ch), but he can follow and communicate with any other user having an account on any other server (like Ruben on bsd.network[^ruben])
+[^ruben]: https://bsd.network/@rubenerd
+
+This intercommunication is called **federation**. In fact, Mastodon can communicate not only with other instances of Mastodon but any other service implementing ActivityPub standard[^activity-pub]. Such services are sometimes referred to as *fediverse*[^fediverse]/
+[^activity-pub]: [W3C ActivityPub Standard text](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/)
+
+[^fediverse]: There's even a [website](https://fediverse.party/) listing  services on the Fediverse.
+
+Yeah, open standards!
+
+Though it's worth mentioning that in its current form, Fediverse is dominated by Mastodon.
+
+### Activity Pub
+
+ActivityPub is a protocol for decentralized social networks based on ActivityStreams vocabulary and syntax[^activity-streams] supported by W3C organization.
+[^activity-streams]: [W3C Activity Streams 2.0 standard text](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-core/).
+
+The standard defines two layers:
+1. A server-to-server protocol. This is what makes the federation work, as it allows instances to exchange data.
+2. A client-to-server protocol. This, on the other hand, allows a client application, be it web, mobile, or Emacs, to communicate with the server so a user can actually use the service.
+
+An implementation may support one or both of those layers so that we may create a complete set of a server with a UI, but it's also completely valid to have an entirely automated instance without any human interaction.
+
+I won't dissect the entire standard; I only want to grasp the general mechanics.
+
+#### Actors
+
+In ActivityPub, a "user" is represented as an Actor on a given server. The same person may have identical accounts on multiple servers, but each of those accounts is a separate Actor[^impersonation]
+[^impersonation]: I have yet to learn about any mechanism preventing abuse here. Anyone can create an account with the same username on a server I don't use and pose as me. Some Web of Trust here would be very beneficial. 
+
+Servers in ActivityPub communicate via simple REST requests. 
+
+Each Actor has unique endpoints representing:
+- an inbox
+- an outbox
+
+#### Delivery
+
+When a User wants to send a message to the world:
+
+{{<svg-full-width "activitypub-w.svg" "Public message sendout">}}
+
+1. User A's client sends a POST message to their own outbox. The message has left the client and is ready to be delivered to a different server.
+2. Any server can call the outbox with a GET request. This is how public messages are delivered between servers.
+3. Users on that server can then read the message in their own inbox.
+
+When User A wants to send a message to User B:
+
+{{<svg-full-width "activitypub-pm.svg" "Private message exchange">}}
+
+1. User A's client sends a POST message to their own outbox. The message has left the client and is ready to be delivered to a different server.
+2. User A's server sends a POST message to the inbox of User B. The message is delivered to the Actor.
+3. User B can then call GET on their inbox to read it. The message is delivered to a Client.
+
+Those requests are authenticated as a given Actor so that we can read only messages addressed to this user. The messages are addressed via "collections" - an Outbox is a collection, an Inbox is a collection, or a follower list is a collection.
+
+The server knows who a given Actor is following, so only messages accessible by any user on this server will be fetched. 
+
+There is also a special "Public" collection, void of permissions. Any user on any server can fetch any message sent to "fPublic" without any authentication. This is how federated messages in Mastodon are propagated - someone follows a user on a different instance, so the person's server knows about the outbox collection and can fetch messages. Since it's aimed at the public, it will be available to each user on this server.
+
+We now know how private and public messages are propagated.
+
+### Activities
+
+Outbox and inbox don't contain the messages, but rather *Activities*. An activity is a request to Create a message, Edit it, Delete it, and so on. This mechanism allows users to edit their messages; in time, all servers should display the latest version.
+
+### Impressions
+
+ActivityPub is interesting as it allows for a decentralized social network closer to how Email works than something like Twitter. However, with this comes two downsides:
+- Chattiness between servers. So many requests!
+- Disregard for space. Servers contain copies of messages. With thousands of users, this may become a problem.
+
+There's much more to unpack here, but this is something for people developing software using ActivityPub. I am not yet one of those brave folks.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/mastodon-has-already-won.md b/content/blog/2023/mastodon-has-already-won.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f5802b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/mastodon-has-already-won.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: "Mastodon Has Already Won"
+category: internet
+abstract: It's the first real alternative to big tech
+date: 2023-04-26T17:40:33+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- Mastodon
+- Twitter
+- FOSS
+- Open-Source
+---
+A few years ago, the internet has changed. What was open and crazy became closed and tamed. Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace - big companies took it all. People no longer have their websites, email became synonymous with Google, and Messenger, Discord, etc., took over instant messaging. We stopped owning the internet and started renting the space from a few companies. Their grasp is firm, and nothing changes unless they make something foolish.
+
+Not that there are no alternatives. We always had open-source and free replacements. We are still able to use (and host) bulletin boards, blogs, emails, IRC, Jitsi, or XMPP. Those alternatives are proven, stable, and feature-rich but lack the most crucial aspect - the user base. You can use it, but your friends or family won't. You become part of a small community when you join any of those. It's fantastic, but Zuckerberg had nothing to fear. If you want to message a friend, the friend is most likely on Messenger/WhatsApp. 
+
+The only counter-example I can think of is Mastodon. Recently the network passed [10 million users](https://www.reddit.com/r/Mastodon/comments/11vyrfv/mastodon_has_reached_10_million_accounts/). 10 million may not sound impressive next to 450 million monthly active users of Twitter, but it's a lot.
+
+We are seeing something new. Musk is slowly destroying Twitter, and, of course, someone will benefit from it. Recently, this would be another VC-backed personal data-gathering machine. But somehow, contrary to any logic, people moved to an open-source solution.
+
+This is what I consider the victory of Mastodon. It showed us that a free, open-source, not backed by any big company product can be a viable contender. 
+
+We've seen some free products gain tremendous traction, but only after help from big businesses. For example, Linux got a lot of support from IBM; Android is Google-owned, and VSCode is from Microsoft. 
+
+Mastodon is a creation of a single Russian dude. And, by a lucky dice roll, it became the first real success of the open-source world. So for me, even if Mastodon disappears tomorrow, it will already be a great victory.
+
+**There is a [follow-up](/2023/eugen-rochkos-nationality-and-propaganda/) to this post**
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/ml-is-still-a-parlor-trick.md b/content/blog/2023/ml-is-still-a-parlor-trick.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..698ca1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/ml-is-still-a-parlor-trick.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+title: "ML Is Still a Parlor Trick"
+category: engineering
+abstract: I am not the only one not believing in the new ML-powered God.
+date: 2023-02-26T10:40:17+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- AI
+- ML
+- Chat-GPT
+---
+[Nabil Alouani](https://nabilalouani.substack.com/p/chatgpt-hype-is-proof-nobody-really):
+
+> Imagine you lock a newborn child alone inside a library. Let's call him Loki, and suppose he doesn't need food, water, sleep, and love. You have Loki watch thousands of books all day, every single day, for 20 years non-stop. You don't teach him anything about grammar, and you never explain what English words mean.
+> 
+> Now imagine you come back two decades later and, under the library's locked door, you slip a piece of paper that says, "Hello Loki, what's your favorite color?"
+> 
+> Do you expect Loki to understand your question?
+>
+> Loki may recall your question from one of the dialogues he'd previously seen. Remember, Loki doesn't read words; he sees them the same way you see Japanese/Arab/Hebrew characters without being able to tell what they mean.
+
+I'm glad I am not the only one considering large language models to be nothing more than a parlor trick. When looking at the front page of Hacker News, it seems that we have reached the next level of evolution at the very least. 
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/music-haul-for-january-2023.md b/content/blog/2023/music-haul-for-january-2023.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea2179b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/music-haul-for-january-2023.md
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+title: "Music Haul for January 2023"
+category: varia
+abstract: 4 new CDs on the shelve.
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-21T19:59:27+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- CD,
+- music-haul
+- Vangelis"
+- Direct
+- Vices
+- The-Cure
+- Kiss-Me-Liss-Me-Kiss-Me
+- Miles-Davis
+- Kind-of-Blue
+---
+One of my goals for this year is to decrease my media subscriptions. Therefore I don't want to rely on Spotify to listen to music. But to do that, I need another way to play music. CDs are nice! Luckily, a small used LP/CD market took place close to where I live.
+
+
+{{< img-center "23-haul-jan-market.jpg" "The market">}}
+
+And now I own four new albums.blog 
+
+{{< img-center "23-haul-jan-haul.jpg" "2x Vangelis, The Cure and Miles Davis">}}
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/my-gripes-with-ai.md b/content/blog/2023/my-gripes-with-ai.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63b1a40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/my-gripes-with-ai.md
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+---
+title: "My Gripes With AI"
+category: engineering
+abstract: I see huge potential but most likely it will create hell on Earth
+date: 2023-03-22T20:41:58+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- AI
+- ML
+- Sam-Altman
+- ChatGPT
+---
+AI may or may not be the future. It’s undoubtedly all the buzz recently. I don’t buy it yet as there are things I either don’t understand or am annoyed with. It’s getting to the point when it won’t be possible to ignore it, but we are still a few years from it if we’re lucky.
+
+1. *no one understands it* - it became common knowledge that we are unable to understand what an ML model does. They are too big, and all the values are provided by automatic learning. In regular programs, there is a simple flow any developer can follow and create a mind map. In the ML model, we are presented with a black box that somehow works.
+2. *it took advantage of open society* - do we know whose data was the model trained on? No, it’s a company secret. What we know is that the set was extracted from the general internet. People put stuff for free to promote themselves or to create some sense of connection with fellow people. The latter is true for this blog. But, at some point, it will be harvested to benefit The Algorithm.
+3. *it will benefit very few* - let’s be frank here: we don’t need automatic chatbots. Who will they benefit? Users will have some help, as they may not need to google an answer or write a boilerplate. But it will really benefit companies providing the models. The last for-profit technical revolution, the smartphone, made our world much worse, but Apple, Google, and a few others earned billions (vide #7).
+3. *it’s an attack on an open internet* - why do people put stuff on the internet? For the money, recently. But if you look at the longer timeframe, the primary reason was for others to check it. I applaud people who have web pages without any analytics. I use one to see if anyone reads something I write. When someone enters, it validates me and makes me happy. This is the idea of the open internet - anyone can create something for others. But what will happen when the visitors disappear? We already have a few closed silos (Facebook, Twitter, and so on), so fewer people surf the wider web. And when all the answers will show up in a single place? Who will continue to create when all that there exist is void?
+4. *who takes responsibility?* - a machine model is not a person (we’re not in [GitS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell) yet), but that won’t stop it from hurting humans. What if it provides wrong information? What if (when?) people start losing jobs due to it? If the pace of innovation continues, the social changes ML will bring will be incomparable to anything we’ve seen. (more in #7)
+5. *what are the limits?* - there were attempts to use ML to detect illnesses like cancer. We don’t do this on a broader scale as it provided too many false positives, and the cons were unacceptable. Will we do a similar thing again? Will anyone say, “stop, this is going too far”? Who would even be able to do that? Scientists are out of the equation now (again, #7), and governments still don’t know what is [going on](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZMwKPmsbWE). [Sam Altman](https://fortune.com/2023/03/18/openai-ceo-sam-altman-warns-that-other-ai-developers-working-on-chatgpt-like-tools-wont-put-on-safety-limits-and-clock-is-ticking/) maybe?
+6. ~~*it’s a closed revolution* - we are talking about ML because of OpenAI. It was a non-profit, but now it’s just another multi-billion company. We are not looking at the work of scientists and enthusiasts trying to see where they can take us. Somehow, Bell Labs gave us transistors, Unix, C, and a million other improvements. Will it be the same as before? Bell had guard rails from anti-monopoly regulations, yet it was still hell of a show. I see no such thing for current champions of ML. Do I trust them to be people of conviction and value? No, I do not.~~ [^closed]
+7. *it will benefit English-speaking countries* - since we already speak primarily in English on the web, the models trained for English-speaking crowds will be best. Most of the world does not treat the English language as the primary one.
+
+I see a huge potential, and we will see the revolution soon. But I’m too old to be an optimist. Silicon Valley is a hellhole full of cynics.
+
+The way I see it, we created open internet for the betterment of humankind. Unfortunately, social media tried to destroy it and almost succeeded. But ML models are taking everything we made and using it against us for the benefit of very few.
+
+
+I’d love to be wrong, but I don’t expect a good revolution. We will be lucky if this won’t destroy the entire society.
+
+{{<img-center "gits.webp" " This is not future we were promised, but about which we were warned about" "https://mubi.com/de/films/ghost-in-the-shell">}}
+
+[^closed]: [this is no longer the case](https://lwn.net/Articles/930939/)
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/no-tags.md b/content/blog/2023/no-tags.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c6d4685
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/no-tags.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+---
+title: "Removed tags and near future"
+category: "blog"
+abstract: 
+date: 2023-10-30T09:04:32+01:00
+year: 
+draft: false
+tags: []
+---
+As a follow-up to my [previous post](/2023/tired-of-blogging/), I have disabled tags from the site. I grew to consider them to be nothing more than annoyance.
+
+Next, I will create a dedicated BSD space where a "Newcommers guide to BSD" (working title) will reside. I want to create a small book-format webpage which could serve as an introduction to the BSD world aimed at people very new to it or just BSD-cuious. Something to read before buying [MWL](https://nostarch.com/absfreebsd3), but also not written for seasoned sysadmins.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/nokia-launches-diy-repairable-budget-android-phone.md b/content/blog/2023/nokia-launches-diy-repairable-budget-android-phone.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..70a7013
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/nokia-launches-diy-repairable-budget-android-phone.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: "Nokia Launches Diy Repairable Budget Android Phone"
+category: hardware
+abstract: can we have good phones again please? Seems so!
+date: 2023-02-27T08:25:11+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- right-to-repair
+- Nokia
+- Nokia-g22
+- Android
+---
+[The Guardian:](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/feb/25/nokia-launches-diy-repairable-budget-android-phone)
+> Nokia has announced one of the first budget Android smartphones designed to be repaired at home allowing users to swap out the battery in under five minutes in partnership with iFixit.
+
+If this trend continues, I may need to stop whining about XXI-century technology. 
+
+> The G22 is partially made of recycled plastic and has a 6.53in screen, large-capacity battery, 50-megapixel camera and a fingerprint scanner. It runs Android 12 and will be supported for three years of monthly security updates and two major Android version upgrades.
+
+Ecology - checked
+
+> The Nokia G22 will cost from £149.99 shipping on 8 March with replacement parts costing £18.99 for a charging port, £22.99 for a battery and £44.99 for a screen.
+
+Pricing - checked.
+
+If the camera is good enough, this may be my next phone. But most likely it won't be...
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/on-simple-software.md b/content/blog/2023/on-simple-software.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed678fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/on-simple-software.md
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+---
+title: "On Simple Software"
+category: engineering
+abstract: make software simpler! 
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-17T15:24:10+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- software-engieering
+- jonathan-Blow
+---
+As I've stated before, I'm not much of a gamer. Therefore, till recently, I had yet to learn who Jonathan Blow was. In short: he is an indie game developer responsible for Braid and The Witness - games I've meant to play for a long time but have yet to do it. He is also quite prolific at the interwebs and game development conferences. But what is most important is that he is a man of strong opinions, and I always had a hard-on for people having actual, individual thoughts. A rare breed, unfortunately.
+
+The one talk of his that made the biggest impression on me was Preventing the Collapse of Civilization[^yt], primarily because if inlines with what I've been feeling recently. The video is worth the time, but to make it brief: Blow states that their knowledge is lost when civilizations fall. And then he comes to the notion that we, software developers, suck because we don't know how CPU works. It makes a lot more sense when he tells it, I promise!
+
+But it all boils down to one thing: the simplicity of software. I am a web developer. And I know one thing most of us are proud of: we make simple software in a simple manner. But are we?
+
+We write high-level code which abstracts levels upon levels of indirection. Take me, for example. When I write software at my job, I do it in Ruby on Rails. The code is then run by a Ruby virtual machine. The virtual machine converts my code to machine code during runtime. The machine code runs on Docker. Docker runs on a virtual server. The virtual server abstracts the real server somewhere in America. When my code wants to persist data, it talks with Amazon Aurora. Aurora is an abstraction of MySQL, running on a virtual machine, but we don't care because we get charts on a website. We don't manage the Aurora. Instead, we do it by changing Terraform code. Terraform is then read by Atlantis, and the changes are magically applied (or not - it seems like it's random if it will succeed).
+
+This, for sure, sounds complex and requires multiple people to understand what is going on, far from simplicity. And it makes everything much slower. But, we don't perceive it because:
+The hardware is crazy fast now. This is one of the things Blow mentions: software is riding on hardware progress. We allowed ourselves to write slow software because it runs fast.
+All software nowadays is slow, so we are used to it. Seriously, look at how fast System Preferences on macOS ran ten years ago and how slow it is now.
+
+But there is simplicity there: the delivery of software. The browser runs most software while most games are sold through Steam (on consoles, on their respective download-only stores). No longer do we need to maintain an inventory of actual physical discs. The trick here, however, is that we no longer need to write good software. We expect to ship bugs, as the cost of issuing a fix to all clients is close to zero. But how can we not ship bugs when the codebases we write are so vast? Dozens (if you are lucky; otherwise, hundreds) of separate programs run complex and intertwined business logic. No one can have a complete understanding of the design. That's why big tech companies employ dozen of thousands of engineers. There is so much going on at any moment; there is a need for people to know precisely one piece of the puzzle. And our solution is lackluster automatic tests and a lack of documentation.
+
+The way I see it: we write incredibly complex systems in a highly complex way that runs on extremely complicated infrastructure. Every solution to this problem just adds another level of complexity (cough Kubernetes cough), and we fool ourselves into thinking that is the way it was always meant. The worst part: it does not serve the user, as he is getting buggy software that is boring (design trends are the same as architectural trends - everyone does the same). All in the name of the business people.
+
+Sustainability be damned, the third phase of software evolution is in full extent upon us, but it may be coming to an end. However, this is a subject for another rant.
+
+[^yt]: [The talk on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSRHeXYDLko)
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/openable-laptops.md b/content/blog/2023/openable-laptops.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed02952
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/openable-laptops.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+title: "Openable Laptops"
+category: hardware
+abstract: wishing for return of laptops one can actually open and fix
+date: 2023-02-10T10:40:12+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- ThinkPad
+- Lenovo
+- Apple
+- HP
+---
+I'm considering getting a small, light laptop for ultraportable use. Ideally, no X-window is needed, just a terminal with Emacs. Just to do some writing on the go or even at home without the distraction of YouTube just two clicks away. My first thought was [ThinkPad X220](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinkPad_X_series#X220), often called the last great ThinkPad. It's small (12'') and cheap (30-50USD). Unfortunately, it's as heavy as my [X1 Extreme](/2022/month_without_apple/), so it's not perfect.
+
+But what has completely blown me away was its expandability and repairability. Apple has completely broken the computer business, as even opening a laptop seems strange now. But you can easily disassemble the X220 in just a few minutes. The internet is flooded with replacement parts. Ever tried to replace the palm rest on a modern MacBook? Me neither. 
+ 
+{{<youtube "T0Wvi7V3nnQ" "How to upgrade X220">}}
+
+There's still hope, though. The [Framework Laptops](https://frame.work/) are designed to be as repairable as possible from the start. The company even sells upgrades for a motherboard with newer chipsets. They, however, have yet to sell outside of North America, so it's a no-go for me. Also: it's a modern computer; therefore, it's expensive. Recently, HP [also joined the game](https://www.ifixit.com/News/30195/hp-makes-the-modern-repairable-devices-you-might-have-forgotten-existed).
+
+Even Apple, in the pre-Coook pre-unibody era, advertised hardware accessibility!
+
+{{<youtube "VJIdIrtC0jc" "Steve Jobs shows how to open a MacBook.">}}
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/perfection-from-the-90s.md b/content/blog/2023/perfection-from-the-90s.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b7958ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/perfection-from-the-90s.md
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+title: "Perfection From the 90s"
+category: hardware
+abstract: just an old stereo?
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-22T09:05:17+01:00
+draft: false
+tags:
+- audio
+- Dual
+- remote-control
+- industrial-design
+- creativity
+---
+Yes, the audio industry still does crazy design. Just look at Marantz! Dual, however, perfected the game back in the 90s. The MN 8010 was held back by technology, but the designers were brave enough to achieve greatness. Remember when "bravery" didn't mean removing the headphone jack? 
+
+> Wow. surprised to see this pop up. I designed this interface back in 1994 while at frogdesign. It's a handmade interface, written in machine code, running on a moto 6508 with 128kb ram- totally custom hardware and software build. Everything is custom drawn, even the fonts, as 4 bit art. And it supports a bunch of different languages. I 
+
+> (Mark Rolston commenting on the video)        
+
+{{<youtube "ckiZf9X8GrY" "Scifi Hifi" >}}
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/pi-day.md b/content/blog/2023/pi-day.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e96d1de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/pi-day.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+title: "Pi Day"
+category: varia
+abstract: It's 14th of March
+date: 2023-03-14T14:26:57+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- pointless-things
+---
+For better or worse, have a happy Pi Day.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/pulse-width-modulation-on-oled-screens.md b/content/blog/2023/pulse-width-modulation-on-oled-screens.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b5d654
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/pulse-width-modulation-on-oled-screens.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "Pulse Width Modulation on OLED Screens"
+category: "hardware"
+abstract: OLED flickers and some of us want to rip their eyes out
+date: 2023-02-23T15:13:20+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- OLED
+- PWM
+- mobile-phones
+---
+Today I've learned about PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) on OLED screens. It turns out that brightness changes don't apply to individual pixels - they always shine at 100%. So instead, what happens is that unless we set the brightness to 100%, the device rapidly switches off and on again backlight of the screen.
+
+We are talking about hundreds of hertz, and there is [math to understand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation), but some people can see the flickering and are therefore unable to use OLED screens.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/re-continuous-productivity-is-toxic.md b/content/blog/2023/re-continuous-productivity-is-toxic.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bef445a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/re-continuous-productivity-is-toxic.md
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+---
+title: "Re: Continuous Productivity Is Toxic"
+category: "varia"
+abstract: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
+date: 2023-03-23T21:40:49+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- free-time
+- hobby
+- hustle
+- brain-baking
+- Seinfeld
+- anime
+- Star-Trek
+- Persona-V
+- gaming
+- TV
+- replies
+- Emacs
+---
+
+ Wouter Groeneveld [published](https://brainbaking.com/post/2023/03/continuous-productivity-is-toxic/) a post about what he calls "toxic productivity." There is a general idea that you can't have a hobby but a side hustle. Now, I am a software engineer as a trade and hobby. I am part of the group which popularized this hustle culture. Yet I agree entirely with Wouter when he writes:
+
+> watching Game of Thrones feels like a "*waste of time*" (another very loaded statement), but to others, it's a way to offload stress, to relax, and perhaps even to get inspired.
+
+I watch a lot of TV. My Trakt profile shows about 300 days of watch time since 2015 - and this does not take into account streaming services. Do I consider this time wasted? No. I watched a lot of it with my wife - who gets addicted to modern series easily. And there are series I watch for my own enjoyment.
+
+I watch [Star Trek](/tags/star-trek/) because I love the universe and have a friend with whom I can discuss it. Is it wasted time? No.
+
+I watch [Seinfeld](/tags/seinfeld/) because I find it incredibly funny and smart. Recent weeks have been extremely stressful due to family health problems, so I finished my second time through the entire series. Was it wasted time? No.
+
+I watch [anime](/tags/anime) because I started when I was 12 and never stopped. I am still amazed by some titles. Was the time to watch them wasted? No.
+
+I still [play games](/tags/gaming). I limit it, as I remember that gaming took over my free time when I was younger, and I want to have less homologous free time. But do I conder the 100 hours of [Persona 5](/2023/persona-5/) wasted? No. And it's a great way to rebuild frienship with another friend.
+
+I am learning [FreeBSD](/tags/freebsd), and it's an utterly unmarketable skill for me. I am not a sys-admin, and if I were, it's 2023, and I'd have more job offers after becoming certified in AWS. Yet, it gives a lot of pleasure to experience this OS.
+
+I am learning [Emacs](/tags/emacs) not because it makes me more productive (on the contrary!) but because it makes me feel good.
+
+And this is why we need hobbies. We need something just for us, something that makes us happy.
+
+> All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/re-on-replacing-my-macbook-air-m1-with-a-thinkpad-t480.md b/content/blog/2023/re-on-replacing-my-macbook-air-m1-with-a-thinkpad-t480.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9692dd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/re-on-replacing-my-macbook-air-m1-with-a-thinkpad-t480.md
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+title: "Re: On replacing My Macbook Air M1 with a Thinkpad T480"
+category: hardware
+abstract: macbooks are overrated. Performance is overrated. Overpaying is overrated.
+date: 2023-02-21T12:16:48+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Apple
+- Macbook
+- ThinkPad
+- replies
+---
+Max Rozen published a post named [On replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a Thinkpad T480](https://maxrozen.com/replacing-my-macbook-m1-with-thinkpad-t480), and it essentially says what I had encountered a few months ago. My [X1 Extreme](https://d-s.sh/2022/month_without_apple/) is much too powerful for my needs. I don't create music nor generate 3D graphics. I'm a humble developer and have never maxed out this device. Yeah, the battery life is far from what I'd love it to be - but that may be Linux.
+
+But what I've largely forgotten about is how easy it should be [upgrade a computer](https://d-s.sh/2023/openable-laptops/). You buy a MacBook, and the only way to change any component is by purchasing a new MacBook. This is terrible for the consumer.
+
+My wife needs a computer for Cytrix. And what have we got her? A 15O USD worth of thin-pc. You can change the CPU and storage and add ram there if Cytrix decides that Windows 11 is the way to go. But we don't need it now. 
+
+Apple made the technology world amazing for investors but hostile to real users. As I [wrote before](https://d-s.sh/2023/macos-is-now-spying-even-more/)
+
+> It's 2023, and I see no reason to buy anything from Apple anymore.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/resolutions-for-2023.md b/content/blog/2023/resolutions-for-2023.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e9ef70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/resolutions-for-2023.md
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+---
+title: "Resolutions for 2023"
+category: "varia"
+abstract: new year, new plans to ignore.
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-01T01:01:48+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- meta
+- facebook
+- phone
+- iPhone
+- freedom-of-speech
+- IRC
+- internet
+- Spotify
+- Google
+- Apple
+- Memes
+---
+In no particular order
+
+### Remove mobile phones from my life as much as possible
+
+Mobile phones are a great toy, but everything has worsened since they became the defacto internet devices. The Internet is worse. Our lives are worse. And the world as well. Yet, I can't leave the house without one (or even a room, for that matter). The device itself is an excellent idea, but the usage patterns and people behind them are not. I'd love to return my mind to a state where going for a walk without a phone in my pocket won't feel anxious.
+
+Also, I use an iPhone, which I am growing to hate.
+
+### Use a computer more
+
+A real computer has all the benefits of a phone (internet access) but none of the disadvantages (better input, better screen, better posture, personalization, lack of addiction-driven applications). I don't want to leave the Internet, but instead to move my consumption from a phone to a real computer.
+
+### Be less self-censoring
+
+We live in lousy times for freedom of speech. No matter what, someone will get offended. I am guilty of not speaking my mind, afraid of this, and this sucks. And people need to be challenged to grow! How will I ever learn if no one points out how wrong I am?
+
+### Be more optimistic and less hot-headed
+
+The last few years were far from good for me. It seems like everything is fine, and then boom - everyone around you is ill. This has taken a toll on me. I want to be happier and calmer. I want to give a generally more optimistic view of the future.
+
+### Increase my internet presence
+
+When I was growing up, internet communities were a magical place where I could find like-minded people who shared my interests. Not viewpoints, mind you, so current social media are no substitute for it. I want to rejoin the Internet with one crucial caveat - no company can be behind it. Not Meta, but an internet board. Not Discord, but IRC.
+
+I also want o invest much more in this site. Previously, I wanted this to be more of a PR stunt than an actual personal website (hello again, terrible modern Internet). But even before that, when I was creating it, I wanted this to be an intimate place where I could vent and do some cool things. Is a link a proper blog post? Not, but it will be!
+
+### Decrease my internet trail 
+
+I have nearly 300 online accounts gathered over a quarter of a century of online life. I have marked half of them as "to be deleted," but it's complicated. It turns out companies don't want me to leave them! So, this year I want to keep only those accounts I use.
+
+I also want to remove my reliance on the cloud. I pay Apple, Google, and Spotify. This year I'm bringing as much as I can into the house!
+
+### Continue to remove reliance on subscriptions to media
+
+This is self-explanatory. My only social media accounts are Facebook (for Messenger) and Youtube. The first one is impossible to remove from my life, as some refuse to use anything else. But I will continue to refrain from using the main product. The latter one? On the one hand, I want to start posting there. But, on the other, I don't want to use it to find stuff and feed the algorithm. 
+
+### Start a side business
+
+Yup, a little software gig has not hurt anyone!
+
+### Improve my meme game 
+
+This is already in progress - https://memes.sapka.me.
+
+### Continue to ignore the existence of our office
+
+Before the pandemic, I could not imagine myself working at home. Now I can't imagine going back to the office. My personal limit is to be there once per quarter max. And, of course, try to be as annoying as possible by questioning the raison d'etre of every meeting.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/rocking-portale-music-like-its-2005.md b/content/blog/2023/rocking-portale-music-like-its-2005.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..19f86cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/rocking-portale-music-like-its-2005.md
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+---
+title: "Rocking Portale Music Like Its 2005"
+category: "hardware"
+abstract: I have upgraded my setup to cheap mp3 player and wired headphones
+date: 2023-03-27T22:09:47+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- portable-music
+- Koss
+- Sansa
+- Rockboxed
+- Bluetooth
+- Wires
+---
+Recently, I have significantly upgraded my portable music experience.
+
+### Headphones
+
+Despite multiple attempts, I am unable to use any IEMs I've tried. They simply fall out my ears. I tried low-end IEMs, and I've tried mid-range IEMs. I've tried all the ear tips I could find. I tried to learn how to insert them properly (rotate the ear counter-clockwise, breath-in, insert the monitor clockwise while chanting and sacrificing a cow). But still - every few minutes, I need to readjust them, or they are out of my ears. Over-ear for me! My new mobile headphones are Koss KPH30iH. 
+
+{{<img-center "koss-1.JPG" "front view of the Koss">}}
+
+{{<img-center "koss-2.JPG" "top view of the Koss">}}
+
+I grew to hate Bluetooth. Even if we ignore the audio quality (and I do as I fail all audio-quality tests I take), removing wires comes with a few huge covenants.
+
+I've used AirPods ever since they came out. From one point of view, their connection quality is excellent. If they connect, mostly everything tends to be ok. But they are [Apple](/tags/apple/)-only, even if you can connect them to a different device. Once you want an audio source from another company, the magical auto-switching is lost. The way they are designed, all modern BT improvements are ignored in favor of apple-centric shenanigans. But let's assume the best-case scenario. How do you switch devices? Not via a handy button but from the phone UI. How do you change the source device on a wired gear? You just switch the plug to another player. And voila - we had an excellent standard just a few years ago. And it worked much more straightforwardly than modern, wireless ones. When was the last time you wondered why the hell your wireless headphones don't connect? Are you even able to debug that? In wired headphones, they either work, or there is a hardware fault. 
+
+And since those are just wires, you can easily get them repaired. Yes, repaired. Headphones tend to last for years if they are taken care of. You may break any random part, but in most cases, it's easy to get it fixed. So how do you repair an Airpod? Easy, you buy a new one! And they will break, as batteries don't last forever. This is the common problem of all modern gear - producers make them as hard to repair as possible. If you go to a random junkyard and find a working set of headphones from 20-30 years ago.
+
+And even if they break, portable wired gear tends to be much easier on the wallet. My KPH30iK cost 30 USD, about the price of cheap, no-brand wireless IEMs. Try to get similarly priced over-ear headphones with BT. Mine don't have active noise cancellation (or any noise cancellation, to be precise), but that's a plus for me. ANC gives me nausea, unfortunately. If this feature was more important, I'd choose something that still supports wired communication.
+
+But ANC comes with the most socially annoying feature I've witnessed - the so-called "transparency" mode. I am old enough to take off my gloves when shaking hands and take off my sunglasses when I talk with someone. I consider it nothing more than a common courtesy. So why wouldn't I take my headphone off? And yet it seems that producers race who can make it more obnoxious - you press, cover, and push. You do Everything but what you should, which is to take the goddamn things off/out of your ears.
+
+Enough about old-man-yelling-at-air; how do they sound? Really great! Not audiophile-level quality, but still great. They are roomy and have decent bass that's not overpowering everything, like [Bose](https://untruesounds.com/no-highs-no-lows-must-be-bose/) tend to. And they are comfy. Not having to adjust them is one thing, but I often choose them for listening to music at home. They are much more laid back than [Sennheiser 6XX](https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx), and they don't sound much smaller.
+
+### DAP
+
+I want to use something other than my phone as a portable music player. My iPhone 13 Mini has attritus battery life, and the lack of physical play control buttons makes it a chore to control. Also, the lack of a jack is a nuisance. DAC on iPhones was always ok at best, but using an external one just to play music is too much for me. I know. I've tried.
+
+So I bought a dedicated device. My requirements were simple:
+
+- Physical buttons to control. The lack of touch screen is a plus
+- Ability to play OPUS, as mp3s are a thing of the past.
+- Not powered by Android. I want something simple.
+- Jack. This is non-negotiable
+- Support for MicroSD
+- Not sounding terrible
+- Small form factor
+- A small price
+- A sane connector (USB-C?)
+
+As it turned out, that's one hell of a list. Older players have the correct form factor but lack modern codec support. Modern ones usually use Android, and I won't have that. The goal is to have a dedicated device and not pay for a general-use computer. And if I went premium, what would be the limit? I am not in a place of [having more money than brains](https://www.astellnkern.com/product/product_detail.jsp?productNo=138), but maybe someday.
+
+{{<img-pull-right "rockbox.png">}}
+Luckily, the Open Source community has me covered! [Rockbox](https://www.rockbox.org/) is an alternative operating system for a wide range of older devices. So I could buy a gray-beard device with the hardware I want and flash it with Rockbox to have all the software features I crave.
+
+And so I got myself a Sansa Clip+. 
+
+{{<img-center "sansa.JPG" "Look at how small it is compared to Airpods Pro 1G case">}}
+
+It checks all the boxes now:
+- It's small. I have it clipped to my jacket for easy access. As the name implies, it has a clip, so attaching it is not a problem.
+- It rocks a great SD port. Take that, Tim Apple! I have become a firm believer that every portable device should support it, and any excuse for not having one is customer-hostile. I can [rsync(1)](https://rubenerd.com/rsync-on-freebsd-with-a-modern-walkman/) all the data I want and have my entire music collection on me at all times. Just freeing myself from paid streaming services is a gain in itself.
+- It has physical buttons for control. The device is soo small that they are not the best, and the layout sucks - someone was riding the iPod mania of the day. But they work without a flow, and I can pause playback without looking at the device.
+- It's a single-use case device. RockBox allows for running Doom, but still, this device is to run music. Everything else becomes a chore.
+- It has a jack. The audio output is far from audiophile level, and I couldn't power my [6XX](https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx), but this was never the point. The audio quality is good enough.
+- It was cheap. Mine cost just shy of 40 USD. The battery is terrible, and I need to replace it - I am the type of person wholdero could burn a house just by looking at soldering iron, so it will come with a cost. But except that the device is pristine. Guess plastic housing has its merits. 
+- It supports whatever file I throw at it. Thanks to Rockbox, I can use my mp3s, Opuses, or Flacs without a problem.
+- It also hosts the worst kind of USB. I don't even know which version it is, but one that's long forgotten.
+
+Recapitulating, I now have a mobile audio setup that ticks all my boxes, allows me to listen to music I own, and costs less than a pair of AirPods.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/rspec-options.md b/content/blog/2023/rspec-options.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fceee63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/rspec-options.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+title: "Specimen control with RSpec's options"
+category: engineering
+abstract: RSpec got some cool options for setting what we will test
+date: 2023-03-31T22:54:50+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Ruby
+- RSpec
+- Engineering
+---
+Did you know that you can control which tests are run using RSpec's runner options? There are a few options I use every day:
+
+- `--seed=` - random order of tests is done by generating a random number, a seed. You can force given order by passing in [seed value](https://rubydoc.info/github/rspec/rspec-core/RSpec%2FCore%2FConfiguration:seed). Great for repeating order from CI!
+- `--only-failures` - only tests that failed in the previous run will be run. 
+- `--fail-fast` - stop run after first encountering failure.
+
+Today I also learned about `--bisect`, which, in a flaky suite, will find the minimal set of tests that will fail the suite. Magic!
+
+You can find a lot more of such options on [Github](https://github.com/rspec/rspec-core/tree/main/features/command_line).
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/rtx-remakes.md b/content/blog/2023/rtx-remakes.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b97009
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/rtx-remakes.md
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+---
+title: RTX Remakes
+category: gaming
+abstract: half life rtx looses any art direction
+date: 2023-02-26T06:56:31+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- mod
+- Half-Life
+- RTX
+- Grim-Fandango
+---
+[Real Time Ray Tracing](https://www.nvidia.com/pl-pl/geforce/rtx/) is a fantastic piece of technology. When a game is designed for it, the results are stunning - even if nicely baked-in reflections are good enough for me.
+
+But somehow, creators insist on adding it to 20, 30-year-old games where it does not belong. The latest example is Half-Life. Paul, a colleague from the office, shared a few screenshots.
+
+Let's start with something great - the glow of radioactive fluid looks cool and matches the atmosphere while not diverging too much from the original.
+
+{{<img-center "hl1-slime-nortx.jpg" "boring scene without RTX">}}
+
+{{<img-center "hl1-slime-rtx.jpg" "cool scene with RTX">}}
+
+But other places look much worse—first, some moodless outdoors.
+
+{{<img-center "hl1-outdoor-nortx.jpg" "nice, crisp shadows and moody floodlighting without RTX">}}
+
+{{<img-center "hl1-outdoor-rtx.jpg" "bland scene with RTX">}}
+
+And Xen looks just horrible.
+
+{{<img-center "hl1-xen-nortx.jpg" "without RTX this looks atmospheric and gloomy">}}
+
+{{<img-center "hl1-xen-rtx.jpg" "with RTX it's just WTF">}}
+
+Lighting in old older games doesn't make sense, as it never mattered. The  object which seem to make light and what makes the actual light are two separate things. What RTX does is completely ignore the art direction (the real lighting of the scene) and make the lights shine. This changes the scene completely, often for the worse. It seems like no one played this before the release.
+
+Look at a different example. Double Fine released a remaster of Grim Fandango. They added dynamic shadows (no RTX, though, as the remake precedes the technology), but they focused on maintaining the mood.
+
+{{<youtube "QRB6Likh478" "Grim Fandango Remastered Launch Trailer">}}
+
+Half-Life RTX is a fan patch, and it shows. You can't just throw new tech on old thing and expect it to work. You need to remake the game!
+
+Some scenes are breathtaking though!
+
+{{<img-center "hl1-hallway-rtx.webp" "This is what shadows can do!" "https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/22/23611075/valve-half-life-pc-mod-ray-tracing-lighting-nvidia-rtx-gpu">}}
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/seinfeld-season-8.md b/content/blog/2023/seinfeld-season-8.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2bea53e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/seinfeld-season-8.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: "Seinfeld Season 8"
+category: varia
+abstract: at season 8, Seinfeld is still going extemely strong. 
+date: 2023-02-09T12:44:04+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Seinfeld
+- sitcom
+- TV 
+---
+For the last year or so, I've been rewatching [Seinfeld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seinfeld). I need to return to [Voyager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Voyager), but Seinfeld feels so good.
+
+Yesterday I finished watching [season 8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Seinfeld_episodes#Season_8_(1996%E2%80%9397)). I have forgotten how many amazing episodes are here! I have trouble remembering another sitcom that kept its momentum for such a long time. Are [Friends](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends) in season eight any good? Meh. [That 70s show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_%2770s_Show)? Meh. [Married With Children](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Married..._with_Children)? [Brooklyn Nine-Nine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Nine-Nine)? [How I Met Your Mother](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_I_Met_Your_Mother)? [Two and a Half Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_and_a_Half_Men)? All meh at this point. [It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_Always_Sunny_in_Philadelphia) still keeps strong, so yeah. There's one contender.
+
+What keeps Seinfeld so strong is a complete lack of progress. When other shows keep mixing things up and evolving characters - Seinfeld is basicaly as it was in episode 1. The evolution
+{{<img-pull-right "seinfeld-logo.png">}}
+is especially dangerous, as characters become parodies of themselves - just look at Ross from Friends. Here? Kramer changed, but in a way that makes Kramer the most Kamer of all Kramers. He is still himself. He has crazy adventures, but he never jumps the shark. Yes, there are season-long stories, like George's engagement, but they do not impact the characters. 
+
+And there are no babies. Whenever a sitcom introduces a baby, the dynamic changes, it's nothing more than a surrender of the show. The creators have nothing more to do with what they've created and need to move to a new show - but without all the cost of a new show.
+
+So, season 8. We are almost at the end of Seinfeld. And boom - the most iconic episode of all happens, [The Soup Nazi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soup_Nazi). And my personal favorite, [The Abstinence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Abstinence) (yup, I am that infantile). In fact, there is not a single bad episode here. You can't go wrong with watching any of them.
+
+Personal top 3 episodes in no particular order are:
+- [The Abstinence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Abstinence)
+- [The Money](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Money)
+- [The Chicken Roaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicken_Roaster)
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/seinfelds-apartament-doesnt-make-any-sense.md b/content/blog/2023/seinfelds-apartament-doesnt-make-any-sense.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dca2af4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/seinfelds-apartament-doesnt-make-any-sense.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+title: "Seinfeld's Apartament Doesn't Make Any Sense"
+category: varia
+year: 2023
+abstract: geometrical impossibility
+date: 2023-01-31T18:13:44+01:00
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Seinfeld
+- useless-fact
+- sitcom
+- apartment
+- TV
+---
+Without any doubt, Seinfeld is the greatest sitcom. A useless fact for today: his apartment can't exist
+
+> The angle of the door entering Seinfeld's apartment and the location of his kitchen don't appear to match with most shots from the hallway.
+
+[Dan Evon made it pretty clear](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jerry-seinfeld-hallway/)
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/shakespearian-theatre-in-fallout-76.md b/content/blog/2023/shakespearian-theatre-in-fallout-76.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..11cc92e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/shakespearian-theatre-in-fallout-76.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: "Shakespearian Theatre in Fallout 76"
+category: gaming
+abstact: The one cool thing from Bethesda?
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-27T17:58:21+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- mmo
+- gaming
+- Fallout
+- Fallout-76
+- World-of-Warcract
+- Lain
+---
+As I've mentioned previously, I am not a gamer. I play games, but I am not a gamer. I am especially not a multiplayer gamer and have never played any MMO for more than half an hour. That said, I find it fascinating what happens in those games! As [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/jan/25/the-open-worlds-a-stage-how-the-video-game-fallout-became-a-backdrop-for-live-shakespeare-shows) reports:
+
+> One crisp spring evening, the Wasteland Theatre Company gathered to rehearse Romeo and Juliet. Jonathan "Bram" Thomas was playing Romeo (...) The Wasteland Theatre Company is not your average band of thespians. Dotted all across the world, they meet behind their keyboards to perform inside Fallout 76
+
+Yes, Fallout 76 is now a place to enjoy Shakespearian theatre. 
+
+Another example would be the [Corrupted Blood Incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupted_Blood_incident):
+
+> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contacted Blizzard after the incident, asking if they could use data from what they perceived as a planned disease simulation to inform their disease modeling research.
+
+Games were always closely related to reality, but sometimes the interaction between them becomes simply fascinating. And, as always, the gamers make the games - not the creators.
+
+[No matter where you go, everyone's connected](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24rPXmWWXek), as Scary Lain said.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/silent-cartoons-from-the-90s.md b/content/blog/2023/silent-cartoons-from-the-90s.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1de5151
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/silent-cartoons-from-the-90s.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+title: "Silent Cartoons From the 90s"
+category: varia
+abstract: Why were communist cartoons silent?
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-28T21:21:24+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- cartoons
+- PRL
+- communism
+- Reksio
+- Pat-and-Mat
+- Krecik
+---
+As a person born & raised in Poland, I always wondered what the hell is with all those silent cartoons. 90s TV was filled with old-looking animated series - [Reksio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reksio), [Pat & Mat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_%26_Mat), [Krecik](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mole_(Krtek)). We were flooded by USA productions and weirdly dubbed Japanese ones (more on later). But why those were silent was a secret for a long time.
+
+A few years ago, I found the answer. We were living in the eastern block as a "unitary state." This meant that any export to the west was out of the question. Export to other communist countries was, on the other hand, very much welcome. "Solidarity of communist states" was a thing, a least on paper. And how to make exporting easier? By removing the necessity to recreate voices! A dog sounds like a dog everywhere, and if we can tell a story without words, why bother?
+
+And so a lot of my childhood was provided by Czechia. It was just cost-effective. And those were not from 90s, but rather 70s or 80s.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/size-of-ipv6.md b/content/blog/2023/size-of-ipv6.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..060f409
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/size-of-ipv6.md
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+---
+title: "Size of IPv6"
+category: engineering
+abstract: Just how big is IPV6?
+date: 2023-04-27T22:34:53+02:00
+year: 2026
+draft: false
+tags:
+- networking
+- IPv6
+- Absolute-FreeBSD
+- Michael-W-Lucas
+---
+[Absolute FreeBSD by Michael W. Lucas](https://mwl.io/nonfiction/os#af3e):
+
+> IPv6 uses 128-bit [...] A 128-bit address space is unimaginably huge, but let’s try to imagine it. Count every human being that’s ever lived. Now count the number of cells in each of them—not just in their body but also all the bacterial cells in their bodies. IPv6 is roomy enough to assign each of those cells an address space larger than the entirety of IPv4.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/sucking-at-touching.md b/content/blog/2023/sucking-at-touching.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..76cdfd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/sucking-at-touching.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+title: "Sucking at Touching"
+category: hardware
+abstract: touch screen interfaces hate me
+date: 2023-03-02T15:46:44+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- interface
+- iPhone
+- touch-screen
+- on-screen-keyboard
+---
+One thing I can't stand about modern computing is the abundance of touch interfaces. Recently I [wrote](https://d-s.sh/2023/joylessness-of-modern-web-design/) about their damage to the web, but my scars are more profound.
+
+I am unable to type comfortably on an on-screen keyboard. I can barely do it on a real one. But on-screen keyboards come with extra problems. First of all the lack of any physical key geometry and real haptic feedback on the key forces me to look at the screen. I can't check what I type as I look where to put m finger. And still, I miss a lot. I have no idea how people are able to hit the keys they want with acceptable accuracy as I am unable to. 
+
+There is swipe, but I tried it and left cursing. The Polish language has too many nuances for it to determine the one word I want, like two letters - "e" and "ę," which, used incorrectly, make me look like a moron. However, this also applies to any autocorrect. Since I type something barely resembling the word I want, its guesses are wrong at best and insulting on a regular basis. As a result, I often send the same word four times, each with a new set of typos.  
+
+I am seriously considering getting a keyboard case. But there are none! Back in the iPhone 6 days, companies made those, but it seems everyone has given up by now.
+
+What I've got from the touch screen on iPhone 13 Mini is a pain in my right pinky and distaste for the entire device.
+
+{{<img-center "anime-girl-computer.png" "Perfection" "https://wallpapercave.com/w/wp11364728">}}
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/systemd-is-fast.md b/content/blog/2023/systemd-is-fast.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed2dc3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/systemd-is-fast.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+title: "Systemd Is Fast"
+category: linux
+abstract: I miss fast boot times!
+date: 2023-03-21T20:36:02+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- systemd
+- Linux
+- FreeBSD
+---
+There’s a lot to hate about [systemd](https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/). It took over PID 0 on all popular Linux distros with its bloated hands, and there are no signs of stopping. Very few would be surprised if it started to take over X/Wayland in the near future.
+
+But one thing it did perfectly is adding parallelization to system initialization. When I was still using Linux as my daily driver, I took how fast it started for granted. And now, on FreeBSD, it is the thing I miss the most, as starting the computer takes what seems to be forever. And since I [can not hybernate](2023/freebsd-on-modern-intel-wifi-cards-and-resume/), the pain is real. RC may be elegant and beautiful, but the system initialization pauses to wait for a WiFi connection.
+
+I am sure there needs to be a reason why FreeBSD is still initiating everything in serial, but this is the one thing that annoys me about the system.
+
+By the way, there’s an excellent presentation about systemd from one of the FreeBSD developers. And it’s void of any hate! It seems like behind all the [valid ctriticicy](https://www.without-systemd.org/wiki/index_php/Main_Page/) and [trolling](https://artixlinux.org/) from the Linux community, it has a lot of merit.
+
+{{<youtube "o_AIw9bGogo" "The Tragedy of systemd">}}
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/tar-is-for-tape-drive.md b/content/blog/2023/tar-is-for-tape-drive.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59491a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/tar-is-for-tape-drive.md
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+---
+title: "Tar Is for Tape Drive"
+category: engineering
+abstract: Exploring IT history to understand current quirks
+date: 2023-04-12T17:17:07+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- tar
+- tarball
+- Unix
+- POSIX
+- computer-history
+---
+One of the things I never knew I wanted to know: 
+
+> tar creates and manipulates streaming archive files. 
+> (source: man tar(1))
+
+Tarball is a file standing for the drive:
+
+> A tar archive consists of a series of file objects, hence the popular term tarball, referencing how a tarball collects objects of all kinds that stick to its surface.
+> (source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarball_(computing)))
+
+This explains two things I never got about tar:
+- It's slow. The tarball represents a physical tape, so to get a file from it, tar must virtually forward it to the needed position.
+- It's not compressed, as otherwise, the computer would need to read the entire tape into memory, extract it and work on that.
+
+Tar is one of the things where computer archeology makes things clearer. Nowadays, we often forget that computers have a history and a lot of things we take for granted need to be invented. Many quirks can be understood if we explore the past a bit.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/the-oses-i-use-most-often.md b/content/blog/2023/the-oses-i-use-most-often.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15af3b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/the-oses-i-use-most-often.md
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+---
+title: "The OSes I Use Most Often"
+category: varia
+abstract: BSD has taken over my life
+date: 2023-03-01T09:50:30+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- MacOS
+- iOS
+- tvOS
+- FreeBSD
+- Orbit-OS
+---
+The [blogoshere](https://rubenerd.com/the-oss-i-use-most-often/) is filled with people listing OSes they use the most. Well, one. But still, it's not a TikTok challenge, so here I go!
+
+1. macOS
+2. iOS
+3. tvOS
+4. FreeBSD
+5. Orbis OS
+
+My work-mandated macOS dominates. I used to love it, but nowadays, it's more of a nuisance. I recently updated the MacBook to Ventura, and what they've done to Settings is nothing short of a miracle. Somehow this tiny interface with just a few tabs is lagging like it's rendering a Pixar movie. 
+
+Next up is iOS. Well, I can blame only myself. I try to use my mobile phone as little as I can, but I still instinctively pick it up. Sometimes the small internet is a distraction from the big internet\. Shame!
+
+We watch quite a lot of anime and tv series with my wife, and trusty old Apple TV 4 (aka HD) does what it is supposed to do. I will need to change the device in the near future - if we get a 4K TV, we will need something more powerful. But even now, some anime rips expect too much horsepower from the device. A real HTPC maybe? I'm deep in my neckbeard phase.
+
+FreeBSD took over Linux on my laptop. It's working but with [a lot of problems](/2023/freebsd-on-thinkpad-x1-extreme-g2/). This will be one of the primary subjects on this blog for the foreseeable future. I already got a sticker for the laptop, so it's official!
+
+The last one on the list is yet another BSD powering the Playstation 4 I use. I am neither a gamer nor want it to be my primary hobby, so I limit myself to one evening per week. However, if  I were serious about gaming, I'd invest in a gaming PC. Consoles seem wrong to me.
+
+Funny thing I've just noticed: **all** of those systems are BSD or BSD descendants. And I thought I was into Linux :-)
+
+No Windows, though! Lucke me.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/the-pacing-of-modern-cartoons-is-a-rollercoaster.md b/content/blog/2023/the-pacing-of-modern-cartoons-is-a-rollercoaster.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c4117c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/the-pacing-of-modern-cartoons-is-a-rollercoaster.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+title: "The Pacing of Modern Cartoons Is a Rollercoaster"
+category: varia
+abstact: Scared rant form a father.
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-24T16:17:52+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- cartoons
+- pacing
+- ADHD
+- Scooby-Doo
+- Paw-Patrol
+- Bluey
+---
+I watch cartoons with my 4-year-old. Not much, but still. What would a childhood be without cartoons? We are fresh out of the full-year phase of Paw Patrol, and I couldn't be happier not to see Ryder ever again. Somehow we jumped to the classic "[Scooby-Doo, Where Are you!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo,_Where_Are_You!)" and "[The Scooby-Doo Show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scooby-Doo_Show)". It strikes me how differently paced the old series were.
+
+Scooby's shows give the kid a lot of space to breathe. We have constant jokes, but in between, there are moments of tension and mystery. It takes 20 minutes for the mystery to be solved, and the show takes full advantage of this runtime. We start with a banger, get some detective work, and only then do we go to the fireworks - the chase. The action takes a few minutes, and the kid is prepared for it.
+
+In Paw Patrol? There is not a moment for rest. Everyone is loud, everyone is running around the screen, and the story jumps from action scene to action scene. There are like a dozen payoffs per episode. It's closer to a skit show with the story just as an excuse. My kid was jumping all around the couch watching it, and no wonder - it was a rollercoaster ride of excitement.
+
+And if that is too slow, Youtube to the rescue! Search for any popular modern cartoon, and you'll find hundreds of "12 hours of Paw Patrol's best actions". Screw the story. The kid wants some ACTION! So let's cut the episode to 3 minutes of ACTION and glue it together. The kid won't be able to breathe, let alone get off the couch. We're all afraid kids will learn to make amphetamine when watching YouTube, but this seems worse.
+
+Luckily there's also [Bluey](https://www.bluey.tv/), which not only makes me believe in the modern world but also wants me to be a much better father. It may very well be the best cartoon I have ever witnessed, and I can't get enough of it. 
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/the-thing-i-want-but-dont-need.md b/content/blog/2023/the-thing-i-want-but-dont-need.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..566bb26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/the-thing-i-want-but-dont-need.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+title: "The Thing I Want but Don't Need"
+category: varia
+abstract: 
+date: 2023-03-03T06:01:24+01:00
+year: 
+draft: false
+tags:
+- desktop-computer
+- gaming-console
+- FreeBSD
+---
+I'd love to get myself a real desktop computer. I have zero need for one, as my laptop is far from its limits on the worst days. But I grew up having a desktop computer, and there was some magic every time I booted it up. That magic is lost on a laptop. I don't have the space (my computer station is tucked in my bedroom, and I share the space with my wife, who also works from home) nor any need for a high-performance machine. 
+
+{{<img-center "dec-vt-100.jpg" "A semi-related DEC VT100" "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DEC_VT100_terminal.jpg">}}
+
+Well, proper support on FreeBSD would be great.
+
+But the thing that I've rediscovered recently is the notion of upgradable systems. When I buy a laptop, there is very little possibility for an upgrade - I can change the SSD, add some RAM, and not much else. Of course, this assumes no Apple, as even their highest-tier laptops can be upgraded only by purchasing a new one.
+
+The next step are the mini-pcs. They are so cute! Tiny, just powerful enough for today, and has a higher degree of expandability. We have recently bought a Dell OptiPlex 3060 in a micro case, and it's the best purchase we've made in the last few months. We can even upgrade the CPU on this little fella! My wife uses it for work, so it's the only Windows machine in the house.
+
+{{<img-center "dell-optiplex-3060.jpg" "Cute machine">}}
+
+But a proper tower gives you the most upgrades and the best power-to-price rate. If only I were a gamer.
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/today-in-ai-open-ai-is-driking-its-own-poison.md b/content/blog/2023/today-in-ai-open-ai-is-driking-its-own-poison.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7e0437
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/today-in-ai-open-ai-is-driking-its-own-poison.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+title: "Today in AI: OpenAI drinking its own poison"
+category: internet
+abstract: the most dull apocalypse I've seen
+date: 2023-05-02T20:14:26+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- OpenAI
+- IBM
+- AI
+- LLM
+---
+I don't consider LLMs to be an exciting subject, so I don't write about them often. Hacker News seems to disagree, as, for the last couple of months, the top page looks more like LLM News than anything else. But occasionally, the news is so funny (or scary) that they catch my eye.
+
+OpenAI, a company that is neither open nor actually about any intelligence, made its entire business model about violating as many licenses as possible. Even though they refuse to release info about where the data they use is gathered from, it seems clear now that they used everything they got their hands on, ignoring any license limitations. With their current net worth, any lawsuit can result in a marginal fine.
+
+Now they are [threatening an open source](https://www.tomshardware.com/news/openai-sends-shutdown-letter-to-gpt4free) developer for creating a tool that bypasses their fees by combining results from different, free APIs which use GPT4 underneath.
+
+Not that I am even surprised, but still: OpenAI is suing a guy for doing exactly what they are doing to everyone else.
+
+In other dystopian news: [IBM hopes to replace almost 8000 people with automated systems](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/05/ibm-pauses-hiring-around-7800-roles-that-could-be-replaced-by-ai/). They made pretty terrible decisions in the past, but this looks to be icing on the cake.
+
+All our hopes and dreams about the internet seem to be turning into nightmares before our own eyes in a very dull apocalypse.
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/unix-documentary-from-att-archives.md b/content/blog/2023/unix-documentary-from-att-archives.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..723a635
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/unix-documentary-from-att-archives.md
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+title: "Unix Documentary From AT&T Archives"
+category: engineering
+abstract: 27 minutes of goodness!
+date: 2023-03-25T06:24:25+01:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- AT&T
+- Unix
+- Bell-Labs
+- Brian-Kernighan
+---
+Recently I've stubborn upon a documentary about Unix from AT&T archives. Somehow I can't get it off my mind.
+
+{{<youtube "tc4ROCJYbm0" "AT&T Archives: The UNIX Operating System">}}
+
+I can't wrap my head around the cumulative intelligence, experience, and creativity of people working at Bell Labs. Over 50 years ago, they created Unix, and their ideas are still alive today. Somehow they nailed it. 
+
+One cool thing to remind ourselves of in the day of phones with almost no usability posing as a computer: Unix was designed to be simple. I can imagine how difficult it may be for a modern user who is now, for the first time, confronted with the command line. But after the initial shock, no other way of communicating with a computer makes it seamless to achieve virtually anything. For sure, iPad is no substitute, no matter how much pure horsepower it has and how Apple will complicate its interface. Unix from the 70s still has to find a contender.
+
+Also, Brian Kernighan is a natural-born star. Doing an official documentary while laying on a chair with feet on the desk? Totally based!
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/using-rss-to-stop-youtube-homepage-induced-damage.md b/content/blog/2023/using-rss-to-stop-youtube-homepage-induced-damage.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1065b29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/using-rss-to-stop-youtube-homepage-induced-damage.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+title: "Using RSS to stop Youtube homepage-induced damage"
+category: internet
+abstract: RSS is still the best way to follow on the interwebs
+date: 2023-05-04T16:31:18+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- Youtube
+- Odysee
+- RSS
+---
+I, for one, am utterly guilty of being addicted to Youtube. Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, or Mastodon have zero power over me, but YouTube? This service steals hours of my life. I am subscribed to multiple channels, but I also refresh the homepage regularly, hoping to find something.
+
+{{<img-pull-right "rss.png">}}
+Luckily it's easy to keep an eye on some channels while ignoring the algorithm completely using RSS.
+
+Even though it's quite hidden, each Youtube channel has its own RSS channel: `https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=<channel_id>`. Finding the channel id is not straightforward, but there are dedicated services out there like, like [https://commentpicker.com/](https://commentpicker.com/youtube-channel-id.php). So, you can find Level1Techs RSS feed under [https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UC4w1YQAJMWOz4qtxinq55LQ](https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UC4w1YQAJMWOz4qtxinq55LQ). Throw it into any RSS reader and voila. Unfortunately, shorts also appear in the feed.
+
+But Youtube has a huge cost for the entire internet. It's the single most centralized repository (let's ignore OpenAI for a second) of content out there. Whenever possible, I try to use alternatives, like [Odysee](https://odysee.com/). Quite a few channels are already mirroring their uploads there. Odysee also supports RSS - `https://odysee.com/$/rss/<channel_name>`. This time you can take the channel_name directly from the URL of the Odysee channel, so System Crafter's RSS feed can be found under [https://odysee.com/$/rss/@SystemCrafters:e](https://odysee.com/$/rss/@SystemCrafters:e).
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/where-is-the-interactive-education.md b/content/blog/2023/where-is-the-interactive-education.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fbb3277
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/where-is-the-interactive-education.md
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+---
+title: "Where Is the Interactive Education?"
+category: varia
+abstract: I want my cool education on CD back!
+date: 2023-04-07T22:15:41+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- retro-computing
+- education
+- cd-rom
+---
+When I was still young and pretty, CD-Roms were all the range. Six hundred fifty megabytes were nothing short of magic. It seemed crazy to be able to fill that. Nowadays, a single webpage can weigh 50 MB, so the size no longer excites anyone. But back then? Oh, boy!
+
+So people came up with inventive ways of filling this space. One of the most popular was adding shareware games. So you got the primary program which could fit on a floppy and a few games.
+
+But others added multimedia. And from that, an entire genre of edutainment apps aimed at kids was conceived. Computers were not the annoying beeping tracking devices they are now, so everything around them was cool - even learning. A parent would often opt for getting a multimedia encyclopedia instead of Quake II, and everything was good as those things were amazing.
+
+Most were lazy but still cool. A movie here, a narration there:
+
+
+{{<youtube "_weFSsm_olo" "The Ultimate Human Body 2.0 - All Animations + 3D Models">}}
+
+{{<youtube "QfiLXLSw_78" "Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Science 2.0 - All Animations">}}
+
+Some were excellent, interactive, and though thorough. Just look at my favorite one, "The Way Things Work":
+
+{{<youtube "tOfDBieJegk" "The Way Things Work, The 1994 Dorling Kindersley">}}
+
+I still remember the few I got my hands on. Paper encyclopedias had more information, but they were boring. Suitable for school work, not for playing. On the other hand, those computer ones contained relatively little knowledge (let's ignore Encarta), but their presentation was engaging. Twelve years old me would click on everything and be amazed. It was almost a game! Have I learned something? Maybe not. But my curiosity and thirst for knowledge jumped to the roof.
+
+What took its place in the modern world? Wikipedia is static - nothing cool will happen if I click a random spot. Youtube is passive; you can't interact with the movie. Yes, there are educational games for kids. But they often focus on a single skill - counting, naming colors, etc. But they fail at making exploration cool.
+
+Really, is there something filling this gap in 2023?
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/why-installers-were-called-wizards.md b/content/blog/2023/why-installers-were-called-wizards.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b8c5e2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/why-installers-were-called-wizards.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+title: "Why Installers Were Called Wizards"
+category: computer-history
+year: 2023
+abstract: and why Sourcers were not Wizards.
+date: 2023-01-20T10:19:19+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- trivia
+- retro-computing
+- wizards
+---
+Rember those good, old Install Wizards in Windows? Those may still be there, but I haven't used Windows in years. But why Wizard? Reddit user [iprobably8it](https://www.reddit.com/user/iprobably8it/) 8 years wrote (and blew my mind today):
+
+> It may surprise younger people, but sending a file to a printer and having that printer apply ink to paper in the fashion you expected was not always that easy. It was made easier with wizards, which hid away all the complicated configurations, asked you about the things that the average user was most concerned with, and then magically made everything work the way you wanted.
+>
+> (...)
+>
+> They were called wizards because wizard's specifically are the men and women of fabled stories who read ancient tomes of arcane script and managed to extract the secrets of magic from them. No common man could simply read a spell-book. The terminology and symbols were as foreign as different language, and only the most intelligent could decipher them. Computer wizards read technical manuals and programming books during a time where the assembly language of computers was not a commonly understood or easily readable thing, and they unlocked the secrets of that language to harness the limitless power held within a microchip.
+
+He has also taught me that Wizards and Sourcers are not the same. Two trivia in one!
+
+[You can find the full thread here](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3dn96m/eli5why_is_every_installer_called_wizard/)
+
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/wildcard-mx-and-a-dns-record-conflict.md b/content/blog/2023/wildcard-mx-and-a-dns-record-conflict.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c730c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/wildcard-mx-and-a-dns-record-conflict.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: "Wildcard Mx and a Dns Record Conflict"
+category: engineering
+abstract: How to have a wildcard email and same domain for a webpage?
+year: 2023
+date: 2023-01-15T17:43:42+01:00
+draft: false
+tags: 
+- DNS
+- mx-record
+- a-record
+- e-mail
+---
+
+A random problem I've just encountered by discovering that my email is broken. You can have a wildcard MX record (*.domain), which will handle all subdomains not defined by other records. 
+
+> A common mistake is thinking that a wildcard MX for a zone will apply to all
+   hosts in the zone. A wildcard MX will apply only to names in the
+   zone which aren't listed in the DNS at all.
+> [RFC1912](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1912)
+
+So, in this case, an A record for test.domain will break the email for test@domain. Solution: add a dedicated MX record for this domain (MX test.domain) with the same value as the wildcard. Now, even if the wildcard one is ignored, the client will fall back to the new record.
+
+```
+*.domain MX 10 addr
+test.domain A 10 adddr2
+test.domain MX 10 addr
+```
diff --git a/content/blog/2023/write-posix-shell.md b/content/blog/2023/write-posix-shell.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..133735f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2023/write-posix-shell.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+title: "Write Posix Shell"
+category: engineering
+abstract: A shell script may be just what you need
+date: 2023-04-05T21:54:48+02:00
+year: 2023
+draft: false
+tags:
+- POSIX
+- shell 
+- scripting
+- bash
+- luke-smith
+- jes-olson
+---
+[Jes Olson](https://j3s.sh/thought/write-posix-shell.html):
+>  when the problem you're solving is small, well defined,
+>  and unlikely to change, consider shell.
+>
+> when the problem you're solving involves linux,
+> text processing, or managing files, consider shell.
+
+This is what [Luke Smith](https://odysee.com/@Luke:7) taught me: a shell script is often enough. Of course, you can use Ruby, Python - heck, even JavaScript. But often, you don't need it, as a simple shell is more than enough.
+
+What FreeBSD experience added to that is portability. I try not to use bashisms anymore (thanks to [shellcheck](https://www.shellcheck.net)), as POSIX is good enough. If it's not, maybe shell is not the best approach for this problem. Portability and lack of dependencies will pay out eventually.