J. R. Swab

Blog


How To Install a Matrix Server (Synapse) on OpenBSD


Categories: [Technology], [How To], [OpenBSD]

After much trouble shooting for several days I finally got this working. :sweat_smile:

This setup uses Openbsd 7.1 and will use a reverse proxy via relayd.

SSL certs are not added directly into the synapse homeserver.yaml file in this setup.

Installation Steps

  1. Install synapse: doas pkg_...

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How to Run Syncthing as a Daemon on OpenBSD


Categories: [Technology], [How To], [OpenBSD]

  1. Install Syncthing pkg_add syncthing
  2. Enable Syncthing rcctl enable syncthing
  3. Update Daemon flag vi /etc/rc.d/syncthing, add -home=/var/syncthing
  4. Run Syncthing once to create initial files: /etc/rc.d/syncthing start
  5. Stop Syncthing after after a few minutes: /etc/rc.d/syncthing stop
  6. U...

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How To Automatically Sync Files To Nextcloud On Android


Categories: [Technology], [How To]

At the time of writing this post, the Nextcloud Android app does not have the ability to auto-sync files. The only auto-sync feature is for image directories but not anything other than that.

Heads Up:

I have noticed that editing the synced files within Nextcloud does not always work. However, v...

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How To Extract Kindle Notes From The Web


Categories: [Technology], [How To]

Luckily, it's quite easy...

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Install OpenBSD Sets From A USB Install Device


Categories: [OpenBSD]

I always seem to forget this and spend more time that I should trying to re-remember how to get access to the sets when installing OpenBSD via a USB drive.

How to install sets from a USB drive on OpenBSD:

  1. When prompted for set installation choose: disk
  2. When asked if the disk is mounted type...

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How To Enable Middle Button Scrolling For The Lenovo X220 On OpenBSD

Add this to your .xsession or .xinitrc file:

xinput set-prop "/dev/wsmouse" "WS Pointer Wheel Emulation" 1 
xinput set-prop "/dev/wsmouse" "WS Pointer Wheel Emulation Button" 2 
xinput set-prop "/dev/wsmouse" "WS Pointer Wheel Emulation Axes" 6 7 4 5

Then restart X! :D

(This probably works...

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How To Get a Programming Job Without Experience


Categories: [Technology], [How To]

How To Get a Programming Job Without Experience

… Even if You Only Have Only Written Code for 6 Months

(Exact Steps Below on How To Stand Out in the Sea of Programmers)

I was running out of time...

My wife was 7 months pregnet...

... and I was working a dead end job that I hated.

I start...

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The One Thing You Need To Beat Your Coding Job Competition


Categories: [Technology], [How To]

The One Thing You Need To Beat Your Coding Job Competition

... and it's not studying algorithms.

(Proof Below: How I Landed a Programming Job Without Memorizing Algorithms)

You're in for a surprise.

Because, you don't need...

Computer Science degrees, coding boot camps, memorizing algorit...

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How To Mine Wownero: Junkie Jeff Hard Fork


Categories: [Technology], [How To]

Last Update: July 12, 2021

How to Mine Directly With Wownerod

  1. Download the latest version of wownero to your mining computer.
  2. Extract the download
  3. Change to the new directory
  4. Run wownerod --start-mining {YOUR-ADDRESS} --spendkey {SECRET-SPENDKEY} --mining-threads {NUMBER}
  5. When the b...

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How to Get Keyboard Key Names on Linux


Categories: [Technology], [How To]

Having the name to a certain key on your keyboard comes in handy.

This is especially true for anyone using a tiling window manager.

Since they often use keyboard shortcuts to execute actions.

It may be obvious that the name for the "a" key on your keyboard is "a". But what about "left shift" o...

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Virtues Of An Effective Programmer


Categories: [Technology]

The Virtues Of An Effective Programmer

  1. Be Lazy in an industrious way.
  2. Be Impatient in a very patient way.
  3. Be Huberistic in a very humble way.

It is said that Hobbits would make great programmers:

  1. Persistence - Stubbornness to keep slogging through when the going gets rough,
  2. Sm...

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Why Algorithms Are Actually Sabotaging You


Categories: [Technology]

A vast majority of mentees I work with have this mentality.

They think they need to be able to whip out a sort algorithm from the back of their brain in an interview.

This is a complete waste of their time...

It's not their fault though... because this idea has been push out from the biggest...

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How To Safelist An Email Address


Categories: [How To]

Safelist is a term used by many email lists.

It's when you (the reciever of the email) tell your email serivce that you trust and email address.

The reason why we want to do this is to make sure the emails we want to see reach our inbox.

And not get tossed into the trash or spam folders.

Her

...

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How To Get Your First Programming Job


Categories: [Technology], [How To]

Most coding programs are great at getting people started coding, but leave the new programmer without the path to actually getting their first job.

Here's a great approach to having recruiters come to you and have the best chance at getting interviews.

First, only focus on what you can prove you...

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Here’s Eric Raymond’s Secret to Be a Better Coder


Categories: [Technology]

"Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert painter." Eric Raymond

Who is Eric Raymond?

He is an American software developer, open-source software advocate, and author of the 1997 essay and 1999 b...

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Top 10 Keys To Being A Superior Programmer


Categories: [Technology]

Over the years of making content online in one form or another I've come across many questions by people that are just starting out on their coding journey.

Here is a list of the ten things I wish I knew from day one.

Don't learn a language

In the start of your programming journey it is good t...

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Create A Quick and Easy Caesar Cipher


Categories: [Technology]

... a Caesar cipher ... is one of the simplest and most widely known encryption techniques. It is a type of substitution cipher in which each letter in the plaintext is replaced by a letter some fixed number of positions down the alphabet. For example, with a left shift of 3, D would be replaced b...

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You Need To Stop Using HTML Email


Categories: [Technology]

HTML email is bad and should be considered harmful.

HTML Email Makes Phishing Attempts Easier

HTML emails allow you to make links which hide the URL behind some user-friendly text. However, this is an extremely common vector for phishing attacks, where a malicious sender makes a misleading lin...

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Email Lists To The Rescue!


Categories: [Content Creation], [Technology]

I use email lists to send updates on new videos, blog posts, and other things. This way I don’t have to play to the algorithms on the platforms I create within. (This is not really an issue on Hive mind you; but other places love to give your followers what "they" think your followers want to see.)

...

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How to Write an ISO to USB on Linux with DD


Categories: [Technology]

DD(1) is a progam used to convert and copy a file to a desired location.

Usage: sudo dd status=progress if=name-of.iso of=/dev/sdx bs=1M; sudo sync

status=LEVEL The LEVEL of information to print to stderr; 'none' suppresses everything but error messages, 'noxfer' suppresses the final transfer...

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Moving To Sourcehut


Categories: [Technology]

Pulled the trigger.

Now supporting Sourcehut financially because this is exactly the kind of source control I want.

$2/month is a great price to support the crew working on this Github alternative for hackers.

I know the claim is that Github makes our repos more easily discovered but after yea...

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How To Create a Linked List Using Golang


Categories: [Technology]

Lately I started to practice my data structures to get a better grasp of programming. Today I chose to tackle the Linked List from scratch using Go. I have not had to write a linked list in forever which made this a great mental exercise.

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Peer-To-Peer: Our Only Hope


Categories: [Technology]

Peer-to-peer has been around a long time and is decentralized in nature. Yes, this is decentralized without the need for a blockchain. Cryptocurrencies and blockchains are awesome but not everything needs to use that technology to be decentralized. All cryptocurrencies are peer-to-peer but not all peer-to-peer decentralization has to be on a blockchain.

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Scripting Server Customization & Setup


Categories: [Technology]

As you well know by now, I am a big nerd. The more I learn, the more I find myself moving away from large desktop environments and window managers to the terminal. The terminal is fast, efficient, and does not hog system resources.

It is to a point now that if I can do it in the terminal then I do...

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How To Use Instagram On Your Computer


Categories: [Technology]

So you want to post that dank meme an instagram but don't want to bust out your mobile or download the app? I got you covered.

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I Removed Google From My Primary Device


Categories: [Technology]

I've been a big advocate of Google services for a long time. I always understood the standpoint that being free services they have the right to use the data I'm putting in. This is how they can make great products and keep them free.

I'd also like to say before getting into this post that if you u...

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Breto; A Multi-UI Status Bar


Categories: [Technology]

View on Github

Breto (originally called Go-Status) is a small project I wrote a few months back to display the time and date in DWM. It's written in Go and the name means "shelf" in Esperanto.

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How To Search A Sorted Matrix With Go


Categories: [Technology]

I started learning common algorithms to better my programming ability. It’s the biggest skill set that I lack at the moment. So many problems have a common ground is these algorithms and having a good handle on them can only make problem solving easier.

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Is Vscode Truly Open Source?


Categories: [Technology]

For years I only wrote code in a terminal via Neovim but chose to give VSCode a spin and I found I really like it. Hovewer, it's not as open source as I orginally thought.

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Achieve SOLID Design in Go


Categories: [Technology]

The following information is a compilation of Wikipedia and the 2016 speech by Dave Cheney (link at the bottom). If I am missing anything or have the wrong idea please message me.

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Hiking Shenandoah


Categories: [Photography]

The past week I got to spend with my in-laws in the mountians of Virginia. Our rental home was just outside of Shenandoah Nationl Park on another mountain with a wonderful view. That first night had a great cloud-less sunset that lasted much longer than expected.

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Tech For Bloggers


Categories: [Content Creation]

Today we have another mashup with my love of technology and my love of blogging. Over the past fifteen years I always looked for new apps to proofread my work and allow me a distraction free enviroment. I am one to try new apps and technology for the possibility of increasing my work flow. Being an...

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My Testimony of Salvation


Categories: [Faith]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to type this up for a long time now and the Lord has weighed it on me to share it with you all. I was born and raised in a home that attend a Presbyterian congregation every Sunday (I don't think we missed more than two or three times a year). That group, and my family, all u...

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How to Play Dwarf Fortress in the Terminal


Categories: [Technology]

The following instructions are for Arch Linux without Xorg (so essentially terminal only arch or what you get after a fresh Arch Linux install). If you are using Ubuntu server or another distro, the steps should be close to the same. But not exact so please do your research. You may get lucky and just have to edit the config file.

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Two Ways To Block Ads On Your Entire Network


Categories: [Technology]

Many people use an ad blocker like uBlockOrigin to block ads from tracking us around the web but this only works on the devices it is installed on. We can do one better and prevent them all across any network in our control.

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Matrix: Decentralized Communication


Categories: [Technology]

In this episode of the Hacker Culture Podcast we talk about Matrix and the Riot app. A decentralized chat protocal and it's flagship app for all platforms.

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How To Bind Any Unicode To Keys In Linux


Categories: [Technology]

Now that I am typing in Esperanto to others online I needed a fast way to type the characters not found in Engish. This would have been trivial if I was using a typical desktop environment like Gnome, Plasma, or KDE; but I use i3wm, and after much searching, I found this approach.

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Powerful Effects Of Ergonomic Technology


Categories: [Technology]

We spend all day on our computers coding, blogging, and consuming knowledge. This leads to many problems over time that even myself deal with now. It is best to keep ergonomics in mind when updating our work space.

Before I get too far into this post, let me say first I am not a doct...

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What You Need To Know About Sugar


Categories: [self improvement]

As I learn more and more about a topic the more, my habits change to fit my new found knowledge. So if I read a study about why something is terrible for my health, I may only change my habits by five percent.

It's this same studying that leads me to a low carbohydrate diet. I was addicted to suga...

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Grammarly Vs. ProWritingAid


Categories: [Review]

Your content matters and you need to make sure you work is of the highest quality to succeed as a blogger. After fifteen years of blogging, I never publish my work without having it proofread or using one of the apps mentioned in this post.

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How To Create Easy and Secure Passwords


Categories: [Technology]

The first step to making sure our passwords are their best is to leave the 'password' mentality behind. We need to create 'passphrases' instead. A passphrase is like a password but longer, using several words together. The longer the passphrase is, the better off we will be. But there is a point of...

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Why You Need To Have New Content Proofread


Categories: [Content Creation]

Proofreading is one of the most essential steps in blog creation. Yet so many people choose not to find another user willing to help out in this process. There may be times when there is an artistic reason to avoid proofreading. However, if you are looking to grow your blog and take it to new levels...

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The Best Mindset To Achieve Internet Privacy


Categories: [Technology]

While there is not just one thing that you can do to keep all your data private online; there is one mindset that will significantly increase the amount of privacy you obtain.

This mindset or tactic is compartmentalization. Separate everything as much as possible. From email to social media, to on...

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The microG Project


Categories: [Technology]

Back in September of 2017 I wrote a post titled, "I De-Googled My Phone ~ The Experiment". It was my first full-length post on the STEEM blockchain. In that post, I recapped my experience using an Android phone without any Google services. It was strange at first but became normal sooner than I ex...

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Steem Dapps, IPFS, & Nebulus


Categories: [Technology]

The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is something that I am glad I came across at the beginning of 2018. It is an open source way to host files and share them around the web in a way that leads to a much faster and less expensive transfer of data.

You probably know by now that I am a massive fa...

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Top Apps To Master Any Language


Categories: [self improvement]

Learning a new language takes lots of time and practice. Immersing yourself into the brand-new language as much as possible is the best way to acquire new words, phrases, and grammar. Immersion can be physical, such as living in a country where your target language is primarily spoken, but this does...

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How To Increase Android App Privacy


Categories: [Technology]

"The idea behind it is to provide a secure way to browse popular webapps by eliminating referrers, 3rd party requests, insecure HTTP requests, etc. It accomplishes this by providing a sandbox for multiple webapps. Each webapp will run in it's own sandbox, with 3rd party requests blocked, and all ext...

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How To Leverage Criticism To Improve Your Blog


Categories: [Content Creation]

Criticism can be both helpful and hurtful, but each type can help us improve our blog. As bloggers we should always look for ways to make our work better and more helpful to the readers. Our blogging goals need to be aimed at helping others every time we sit down to write.

Dealing With Criticism

...

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Drift


Categories: [Poetry]

The deep dark night of space so empty cold

he floats amid the falling balls of flame

so many planets circle round quite old

as comets mock the floating spaceman's aim


Will gravity be garnered once again

thoughts race to airy skies of birds and breeze

across the vast black nothing, miss...

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How To Make The Internet More Awesome


Categories: [Technology]

As you all know by now, I am in love with decentralization on all things internet based. The big issue is the service provider being the gatekeeper. This is solved with "mesh networks" and we can get into that in a future post. The other issue that tops the list is hosting our sites, files, and comm...

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T-UI, The Terminal Launcher For Android


Categories: [Technology]

What Is T-UI?

T-UI, developed by Francesco Andreuzzi, is a launcher for your android devices that emulates the Linux command line interface. We talked about how awesome the terminal is in the past. Check out that post if you want to learn more. T-UI takes that utility and sets it as your launcher....

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tmux, The Better Screen


Categories: [Technology]

What is tmux?

Tmux stands for 'Terminal Multiplexer' and does a lot of cool things. If you use terminal often on your home PC or are using SSH to log into other machines tmux will be your new best friend. This is because when you use tmux you can have several terminal applications running in the...

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Photos From Valley Forge


Categories: [Photography]

This past weekend was spent with my in-laws just outside of Philly.

After some coffee at a small shop we went to Vally Forge for a hike.

Here are the shots I kept, there was not a lot of color making all but these disposable.


The Beauty Of Open Source


Categories: [Technology]

What is Open Source?

Open Source is software whose code is not locked down. Anyone can look at the code, even you. This allows for many benefits over the proprietary alternatives. One such benefit is more eyes equal more chances of finding issues in the code. Issues that may lead to data breaches...

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Silicon Strings


Categories: [Poetry]

Silicon strings bind us

as we dance across scrambled signals.

Electronic emotion beating inside

fleshly hearts trying to escape

to manifest our physical

blemish littered existence.

Dancing across tangled copper wire

within the silicon chips that bind us.


Terminal, The Only App You Need


Categories: [Technology]

What Is The Linux Command Line?

The command line is a blank screen with a blinking cursor and username. It can be very intimidated to a new user of Linux but they will soon find out how great this little application can be. It is here where you can type in commands and the computer will run them....

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Cyber Dreams


Categories: [Poetry]

Cyber dreams floating across

the ever endless stream.

Signals traversing land and sea

a chance to reach for you from me.


How To Be Saved


Categories: [Faith]

After spending years in the New Age movement I was resuced from spiritual death. This only happend once I realized that there was nothing I could do to save myself. The fear of God, his wrath, and the comming judgment moved me. I threw out all my occult possesions and confessed to God that I wante...

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Surrender All


Categories: [Poetry]

Weak, faint, feeble

fragile shatters glass

broken pieces drifting

across empty plains

you see me whole

past my mess

past my pain

fall into your strength

nothing can be done

surrendering all to you

for you've already won


The Ultimate Way To Desktop Manage


Categories: [Technology]

Window managers create the look and feel of your programs as they appear on your screen. Microsoft and Apple only come with one type of manager installed. Linux allows you to install whatever type you'd like. Just another reason Linux is awesome!

Types Of Window Managers

There is a good number o...

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How To Save Our Internet


Categories: [Technology]

Why this matters.

As internet companies get more tremendous and central, the ability for those companies to work together for their best interest increases. This only leads us toward less innovation and keeping the status quo, but technology should always push forward. Some sources claim Google ho...

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The Reason Esperanto Is Easier To Learn


Categories: [self improvement]

Many people want to learn a second language but have trouble grasping all the inconsistencies that came along with all natural languages. Esperanto is different. It is a constructed language, which means it was created and not formed naturally. This allowed the creator to make it as easy as possible...

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Use Bitshares


Categories: [Technology]

A while back I chose to spend some time and learn what BitShares was all about. The more I learned, the more I fell in love with this trading platform. For whatever reason, when I first heard about BitShares I shrugged it off as I seem to do with most things.

There is only so much time in the day...

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Brisk Auburn Sky


Categories: [Poetry]

brisk auburn sky

whisked clouds float by

bird-less trees freeze

gusts of chilled breeze

stiff blades of grass

snap under my mass

breath frozen on beard hair

piercing wind too sharp to care


How To Discover Great Topics For Your Blog


Categories: [How To]

All of us from time to time will run into the issue of finding a topic to write about within our niche. Sometimes we come against a wall and discover our minds blank and void of any ideas. Over the past 15 years, I hit this proverbial wall many times and sometimes it made me miss my deadline (when I...

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Winter Sonnet


Categories: [Poetry]

The snow falls gently on the vast still plain

a horse does trample bitter frozen ground

while chipmunks slumber nothing quite to gain

and ants asleep inside their hollow mound


The charcoal river fish have swum away

petite brown deer do prance the powdered snow

while wool wrapped neighb...

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Internet Security & Privacy


Categories: [Technology]

Passphrases

I'm going to touch on this only briefly since I did a full twenty to twenty five minute podcast on this subject. As mentioned before, make sure to use a password manager such as Bitwarden. Bitwarden does have a free version that has a ton of functionality. I currently pay for the premi...

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Security Tips For Android Users


Categories: [Technology]

Encryption

Every device today has the option to encrypt your phone or tablet. I started using this feature around 2015 when I picked up the Google Nexus 6p. We have touched on encryption in the past and will touch on again as it pertains to your mobile device.

Encryption on your phone or tablet...

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How To Keep Them Pining


Categories: [Content Creation]

The posts we create are the nucleus of the blog. Every other aspect is second to the quality of the content we create. This includes commenting, getting logos, engaging in group chats, and promotion. We can still do many of those things without creating posts but our growth will only go so far.

Go...

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A Technology Nerd's Notion Review


Categories: [Technology]

I love notes, writing, and storing ideas. I use my bullet journal for most things and enjoy the feeling of writing with a fountain pen. That said, being INTP I tend never to have a rigid schedule and find myself writing very little in my Bullet Journal from day to day. The same three to five things...

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YaCy, A Decentralized Search Alternative


Categories: [Technology]

Today we are getting more in-depth wit YaCy and why it is important. We, as internet users, need to be mindful of who is using our data and how. Does it benefit us to give up our information and privacy?

Convenience is often the only benefit found for today's mass data collection of internet users...

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Regado aŭ Konformeco ~ Poemo


Categories: [Poetry]

Jen estas poemo mi skribis en 2018 tio mi decidis al reskribas on Esperanton.


negocis kasteloj por ĉielskrapantoj

nun dubas li ĉiutaga ekvilibro

de vevo kampaso en mano

kaj luno ombras supre

lia piedo alprenas unuaulo saltego

ekde hejmo al profunda scias

en serĉas de libero regado


...

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Monero is our future


Categories: [Technology]

I know I do not talk about cryptocurrency a lot on this blog and that is because of how fast the market can change. This coin is different though, Monero started back in 2014 and had slowly gained ground in a steady climb and often sits in the top 10 cryptos by market cap.

I overlooked Monero for...

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Decentralizing The Marketplace


Categories: [Technology]

As we progress in our immersion of technology, we move more and more of our daily transactions to the Internet. Sites like Amazon and eBay paved the way in their particular niche. Now we have Walmart, Target, and many other brick-and-mortar stores increasing their online presence.

These are all ce...

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Choose Wisdom - An Original Poem


Categories: [Poetry]

do sleepy sheep question do rainbows calculate their path do the old see raw comedy in their anticipated tragedy

life is not a hopeless gamble or the lay of scattered dice apples for health, jobs for wealth better to aim for wisdom


Ways to support the blog.

If you are an email kind of nerd y...

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A Yearly Bible Reading Plan


Categories: [Faith]

Reading the Bible is a year is a popular method to get through its entirety. However, the readings can be short, and as a follower of Jesus, the reader needs more time in this fantastic book. At the time of writing, I read the Bible through twice.

The first time took about eight months, and I used...

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How To Type Esperanto With Any Keyboard!


Categories: [Technology]

Once I started to type in Esperanto to other people around the web I found I needed an easy way to type the Unicode characters for the letters not found on an English keyboard.

On a Chromebook

Press CTRL+SHIFT+U in any input field to get an underlined “u” on in the text field. Then type the Un...

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How To Mine Monero With AMD Graphics On Linux


Categories: [Technology]

Update: This document is out of date. Use your CPU and RandomX to mine Monero.

One day awhile back I chose to learn about a cryptocurrency that previously I knew nothing about. The pick was Monero, a coin (at the time) ranked thirteenth by market cap on coinmarketcap.com and eighth by price. W...

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Spleno Vinto ~ Originalo Poemo


Categories: [Poetry]

vigla pikas venta potenco glacia normoj ekvento ŝtormo sala stratoj butonis ŝaflano koltuko vango plugis amasaĵo varmiĝas drinkaĵo vintro malĝojiĝas

The verison originally written in Engish

(For all you English speakers and anyone that want to see the original here you have it!)

briskly bite w...

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Silver Ions Kill Harmful Bacteria!

Around four or five years ago is the first time I heard about "colloidal silver." The idea intrigued me enough to entertain the idea and buy some off ETSY to try. I never got serious about the substance since the information seemed to be all over the place. Some call it ignorance and others call it...

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Leverage Technology For Better Blogging


Categories: [Technology]

Today we have another mashup with my love of technology and my love of blogging. Over the past fifteen years, I always looked for new apps to proofread my work and allow me a distraction-free environment. I am one to try new apps and technology for the possibility of increasing my workflow. Being an...

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Learn Bash: Tutorial 004


Categories: [Technology]

Welcome back to our Bash tutorial, in this post we will get deeper than the last. Head back and read those first if you are new to Bash scripting. Otherwise we can move forward and talk about more awesome Bash tools to make our computing life easier.

As said in the lasts post if you are reading th...

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Learn Bash: Tutorial 003


Categories: [Technology]

The previous post in this series covered a few basic commands that we use most often in both the terminal and in Bash scripts. Today we will stay with this trend as we progress into more ways to manipulate what our computer does. If you have never used Bash, go back and read over the other two pos...

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Learn Bash: Tutorial 002


Categories: [Technology]

Welcome back to the bash tutorial series. If you have not read the first in the series and you have never used bash please check that out before continuing. There are basic commands and terms we cover there that may make this section easier to follow.

Also, if you are reading this and you know b...

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Learn Bash: Tutorial 001


Categories: [Technology]

This is a start to a series all about bash and scripting for the terminal. There are lots of commands to cover but today is all about the basics. As long as the information fits within the one thousand word limit that this blog adheres to we should cover what bash is and some basic commands. The goa...

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You Need The Growth Mindset


Categories: [Self Improvement]

Recently I came across this idea known as the growth mindset by Carol Dweck. As I read, I found the ideas it held lined up with my take on blogging. This mindset has several points or attributes that help us achieve goals and milestones. Without this mindset we limit ourselves in both our mental abi...

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This Tech Lover's Daily Carry


Categories: [Personal]

So you may be able to guess some of the thing a guy like me carries around with him everywhere he goes, but I'm confident at least one thing on this list will surprise you. It will probably be different for many of you, so please leave a comment below telling everyone what you least expected to find...

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Be Free Of Your ISP


Categories: [Technology]

Mesh networking is the future for how we access content on the internet. What a mesh network does is take the gatekeepers out of the equation and allows anyone to hop on the network. This type of system is not new, but some people are taking this idea to the next level.

Instead of needing Comcast...

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How To Keep New Blogger Motivation


Categories: [Content Creation]

This marks my sixtieth consecutive day posting on this blog and want to share some things I have learned about starting a new blog. As a blogger of over 15 years on several platforms these basic motivation tips work every time.

If you start a blog, you will find that no one is reading your work fo...

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Use This To Decentralize Web Content


Categories: [Technology]

The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is something that I am glad I came across over the past few months. It is an open source way to host files and share them around the web in a much faster and less expensive way.

You probably know by now that I am a massive fan of decentralizing all the thing...

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You Need To Stop DNS Leaks


Categories: [Technology]

My mind has been on the Domain Name System (DNS) server for about a week now. I've been mulling over whether VPNs are necessary and what level of trust should be placed in a DNS provider. It's evident not to trust your ISP's DNS since some companies have been caught manipulating the data or using yo...

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What It Means To Be A Stoic Christian


Categories: [Faith]

Learning about views others have on life, and other philosophies is a great way to understand what this life. As a follower of Jesus, my authority is with the Bible and as I read different views about how to conduct life my daily Bible reading acts as my filter.

We all need truth to hold on to, e...

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My Debate To Ditch Social Media


Categories: [Self Improvement]

Ever since the new year, I have had a strange funk over me. My motivation to do anything dropped to, basically, zero and there is nothing that I actually wanted to do. Putting out a blog post every day only happens because I just show up. If I had no goal to reach by the end of the year, I would pro...

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How To Stop Leaking Metadata


Categories: [Technology]

Even if you use a VPN and surf the web over TLS/HTTPS your ISP or the coffee shop you sit in can still know where you go and what you do on the internet. It's this data that gets sold to the highest bidder for a profit off what you do online.

No matter if it is the coffee shop or your ISP it's dis...

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You Need A Hardware Wallet


Categories: [Technology]

If you put money into Bitcoin or another crypto, it's mad essential to store your wealth in a hardware wallet. These devices keep your private keys offline which significantly increases your security and limits the chances of your currency being stolen.

I picked up my first hardware wallet back in...

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How To Increase Efficiency With Bash Automation


Categories: [Technology]

As you well know by now, I am a big nerd. Not the broken glasses and suspender-wearing kind but the learn as much about computers as I can kind. The more I learn, the more I find myself moving away from large desktop environments and window managers to the terminal. The terminal is fast, efficient,...

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Why You Should Use Free & Open Source


Categories: [Technology]

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is a group of programs and projects classified as both open-source and free software. This type of software respects the user's freedom while allowing all of us to look over the code. The ability to review code is essential, so we know exactly what the program is...

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Reclaim Your Privacy With F-Droid


Categories: [Technology]

All modern phones and mobile devices come with a pre-packaged app store to allow you to download useful applications. The store software is closed-source, and the majority of the applications we install are the same.

Maybe the app could be open source if they did not rely on some little bit of cod...

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Your VPN Is Not Enough


Categories: [Technology]

Your VPN Is Not Enough

My previous post about VPNs had a lot of traction over the Fediverse. Thanks to everyone for all the support and also thanks to the readers that pointed out what I missed about VPNs. How they are inherently secure but not private in many respects.

They are correct; no on...

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VPNs Are Awesome (When Used Correctly)


Categories: [Technology]

Internet Service Providers can see the sites you visit, log them, sell them, or slow you down when using a specific website. All of this is the focus of net neutrality which may or may not be a good thing for the internet. I'll avoid my strong urge to blast my politically educated opinion on net neu...

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You Need Secure Chat Apps


Categories: [Technology]

Secure chat is a topic that I am always looking into because I believe we all have a right to privacy. Searching new apps that come onto the market to see if they have default encryption are open source and respect the users.

Encrypting our chat does not mean we have something illegal to say or sh...

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How To Create The New You In The New Year


Categories: [Self Improvement]

Its already the last day of the year, you want to improve your life, but the majority of people drop their resolutions within the first month. What can we do to make sure the "new us" sticks for the full year? There are a lot of tactics floating around the internet from productivity hacks to living...

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Keep Your Email Private


Categories: [Technology]

I have several email addresses that claim to encrypt my data and even the email sent if the other user has an account with the same provider. All of them work well, but Tutanota is my favorite by far for many reasons. The main reason is its open source, and we all know how much I love open source so...

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How To Format In The Flow


Categories: [Content Creation]

Most blogging sites today have a built-in editor with buttons to format our text. However, there is a better way to format our content to give us more control with less distraction.

These are HTML and Markdown.

Using one of these formatting methods allows you to create your posts offline while...

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Bullet Journal Method Book Review


Categories: [Self Improvement]

After starting to Bullet Journal for better clarity and organization, many questions pop up about how and why; this book answers them all. Honestly, it is hard to put down this book. The writing style flows so well, the ideas and concepts are not stuffed with technical terms (outside of Bullet Journ...

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Encryption and Quantum Computers


Categories: [Technology]

Encryption becomes more of a backbone to our daily lives with every passing moment but what will happen when quantum computers are the norm?

What is Encryption

Put simply, Encryption is taking information and scrambling it, so it becomes gibberish. Turning this scrambled mess back into readable...

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How To Make The Switch To Linux


Categories: [Technology]

So you know that Linux is a better system for privacy and security, has more customization features, and is lightweight compared to its other operating system candidates. The problem is that the leap of faith into Linux is a bit anxiety inducing since it can feel so much different than your current...

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Introduction To Vim


Categories: [Technology]

I began my VIM journey years ago after following a tutorial online for some obscure Linux function that said to open a configuration file in VIM. I then found out I had no idea how to do anything in this program. I could not type, only move the cursor.

It seemed much too odd for me as a text edito...

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How To Create Your Own Cloud


Categories: [Technology]

I am an advocate for freedom and privacy. Since my nerd level is so high this leaks into my love of technology. You may not know this but I did not graduate with a degree in computer science. It was political science with a minor in music.

Weird, yes.

But technology has always been my passion an...

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Stop Sleeping Eight Hours Every Night!


Categories: [self improvement]

Sleep is the most crucial act we do on a daily basis. But do we really need eight hours and is that even optimal? This has been on my mind ever since I started to wake up at five in the morning. I realized I was only getting between six and seven hours of sleep and some days I felt better than when...

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How To Be An App Minimalist


Categories: [self improvement]

Over time the apps on our mobile devices pile up, and we end up with a massive amount of icons we never touch. There is a better way to live in this digital world by only keeping what you need or what brings you lots of value.

App minimalism is not about having the absolute least number of apps on...

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Why You Need to Learn These Three Programming Languages


Categories: [Technology]

There are so many programming languages out there to pick from but how do we know what ones will benefit us the most? We could go off of total pay a particular language brings the average programmer, ease of use, or how efficient the execution of the code will be. What is more important than all of...

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Stop Drinking Trash Coffee


Categories: [How To]

Coffee is one of the most consumed drinks it the entire world. However many people don't know how to make a great cup of joe. There are a few quick ways to push your morning drink to the next level without much hassle.

1. Grind

The first step everyone should start out with is grinding their coff...

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My New Favorite Board Game: Dominion


Categories: [Personal]

I have yet to meet a nerd that does not enjoy a good board game; there is strategy, excitement, and best of all no need to leave the house!

Makes us introverts very pleased indeed.

(Almost) Every year my wife gets me a new board or card game for my birthday. This past September she picked up Dom...

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Android Apps To Increase Privacy & Security


Categories: [Technology]

The news is littered with data leaks and abuse of data collection but what can we do now that we are all so connected and reliant on these devices? It's not always simple and not always intuitive, but it is possible with a few apps and a little bit of learning.

Keybase

We covered this app in dep...

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What Does The Bible Say About Fasting?


Categories: [Faith]

Fasting is gaining popularity in the health and wellness niche but as a follower of Jesus we need to be aware of what the Bible says.

Warnings about Fasting:

Fasting is not for salvation nor a religious ritual

Luke 18:9-14

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselve...

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Web Browsers To Increase Privacy & Security


Categories: [Technology]

Web browsers are our gateway to the internet but with so many choices how do we know which is best for us? Being a big nerd, I tend to hop around from browser to browser looking for what fits me. I want the application to not get in the way of serving up pages while allowing me to customize the priv...

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How To Secure Data Efficiently


Categories: [Technology]

Securing our data is the most important thing we can do in this digital age. However using PGP based products does not come easy for most.

What is PGP, GPG, and Open PGP?

PGP

PGP stands for 'Pretty Good Privacy' and rightfully so, it's pretty darn good! It is used to encrypt messages and files...

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What Live Streaming Taught Me


Categories: [self improvement]

Many of us would like to overcome the fear of public speaking or became a master of small talk. However, the level of anxiety that we face is almost always enough to push us away from self-growth. After years of live streaming on various platforms the fear and anxiety of speaking to new people great...

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How To Unlock Potential Through Journaling


Categories: [How To]

Effective DIY journaling can be overwhelming starting from scratch. Those of us that gravitate towards this style don't want to be restricted by the traditional journals with preformatted days. However, the number of choices we have in creating a custom journal is infinite and can leave a person par...

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Experience Switching To The Dvorak Keyboard


Categories: [Technology]

Back in October of 2017, I chose to drop QWERTY cold turkey and force myself to learn how to type on the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard. I tried to accomplish this about a year prior but fell off when I could not type well in either style. I also was not typing a lot back then, so my practice was seldom...

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Creators, Drop Patreon Use Liberapay


Categories: [Technology]

Patreon is able to shut down the income of a creator that is flagged by a random user. This is, at times, warranted by the content of the creator but is a very slippery slope. Instead of leaving this source of funding to a company that takes a cut and can shut you down without notice; creators shoul...

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Walking the Line Between Religiosity and Reprobation


Categories: [Faith]

The Bible is full of a lot of commands for believers; these commands tell us how to like morally and keep us from becoming a reprobate. However, there is another side to this coin that Jesus often spoke out against, and that is Religiosity. Religiosity is defined as excessive or affected piety; basi...

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How To Stop Account Hijacking


Categories: [Technology]

With our lives becoming more internet dependent the risk of getting our information stolen increases. This then increases the demand for security, different passwords, and knowledge on how to create a great password. The two approaches that give us the most bang for our buck is to use a password m...

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Plan To Be Productive Every Day

Many of us see the day slip through our fingers wondering where the time went wishing for more. Instead, we should create our ideal day every day. Scheduling our day sounds like it will limit what we can do and make us feel like we are back in high school. However, this is not the case as I have fou...

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Why We Need Decentralization


Categories: [Technology]

The majority of our web-based lives are centralized. We talk to websites owned by one company to use apps and services solving our daily needs. This is all well and good until the company goes under or is offline due to an attack. Decentralization is the answer to this problem in a way that allows f...

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How To Increase Life Efficiency Through Automation

Repetitive tasks are tedious, mind-numbing, and mostly a waste of our precious time. We only do them because they need to be done, but we can automate almost all of these brainless routines. With automation, we give back to ourselves the time we would have wasted yet again on whatever needs doing ag...

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How To Conquer App Addiction


Categories: [How To]

Mobile applications are designed to keep us using the service. Scrolling mindlessly on a slow drip of dopamine looking for the next novel image that will make us laugh, cry, or question. However, this is not good for productivity and can leave us unmotivated when challenges arise when we aim to achi...

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Apps To Conquer Healthy Living


Categories: [Technology]

Many of us want to live a healthy lifestyle but trip over the details on making progress. The best way I found to make lasting life changes is by taking them one percent at a time. Don't try to work out every day of the week when starting. Just get one day a week in and kill that goal. Then move to...

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Three Reasons You Need to Learn to Program


Categories: [Technology]

Basic understanding of computer logic is more needed today than ever before, and this trend will only continue for the foreseeable future. Our world is more and more technological and the less we know about how computers and programs work the more we are put at the mercy of the creators. We need to...

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Three Free Apps to Kill Evernote


Categories: [Technology]

Evernote is the dominant powerhouse in the digital note-taking ecosystem and is the standard against all others are measured. The system of notebooks, notes, and tags make organization a breeze. However, the closed source code troubles many of our privacy-focused peers.

To be a viable competitor t...

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Mental Math Tricks You Need To Know


Categories: [How To]

The ability to recall the answers to math equations is touted as a spark of genius and a primary goal for many elementary school children. Memorizing numbers, carrying remainders, and long handing "all-the-things" is the norm but this is not the optimal nor the most efficient way to learn math.

In...

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Linux Makes Everything Better


Categories: [Technology]

I'm the only one in my family that understands this fundamental law of computing.

My sister was having issues with her laptop that she bought a few years ago. So I reformatted it and only a short time after she decides to buy a Chromebook. She then offered me the laptop to have and to do as I plea...

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4 Reasons Why You Need Grav


Categories: [Technology]

I started this blog with a content management system (CMS) called Publii. Publii is a very well made application, and I highly recommend it for anyone starting their first blog. It's easy to use, navigate, and update your site. All you need to get started is a host and a domain name. From there you...

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How To Create Meaningfull Habits

Last year I had the goal to read at least one book every week. I learned a lot about the mind, building wealth, and how to improve various areas of my life that I thought needed some help. The following information is from my notes on the Book "The Power of Habits" by Charles Duhigg. The book is ful...

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I hate 80s Music But Fell in Love With Synthwave


Categories: [Personal]

Even though I was born in 1988, I grew up in love with 70s rock and roll. My favorite band was Led Zeppelin, and they influenced much of my music taste through high school and college. My musical taste was not limited to Rock, but I also listened to hip-hop, folk, and indie across many decades. Some...

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We Finally Have Security


Categories: [Technology]

After much hassle this site now allows you to connect via HTTPS. I did this more as a cosmetic than an actual need to secure any data. Now that green lock is present, we all can feel safer.

Adding TLS support is cosmetic for everyone reading is because you are not sending sensitive data to my ser...

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This Is What Happens When a Nerd Needs to Lose Weight


Categories: [Personal]

A few days ago I opened up my RSS reader and saw a post by Eric S. Raymond titled Stop whining and get the job done. I like to be motivated, so I clicked to read more. To my surprise, his post was not about something tech related but weight loss. After reading his post and hearing what he is doing...

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Why This Technology Lover Needs a Journal


Categories: [Analog]

I love technology. As time goes on you will see a high percentage of my posts will be about something tech related. However, this me, my personal blog and I want you to get to know me for more than just technology.

Even though, I've already labeled as a "techie" by many people and hold to the idea...

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I'm Rethinking RSS


Categories: [Technology]

After some thinking about the current state of social media and mass email lists, RSS came to mind, and it's actually a much better alternative for privacy. No data collection, no feed manipulation, no email newsletters. It's like someone from the future went to the past and gave us the answer to su...

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No View Counts, No Worries


Categories: [Content Creation]

The creation of this site is done with an open-source GUI called Publii. I stumbled across it about a week ago, and it sounded exactly like what I needed to make this blog. I wanted to stay away from WordPress this time and was looking for a static site to keep to keep the load times to a minimum.

...

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The Right Time Is Always Now


Categories: [Content Creation]

Create. Quit.

Create. Quit.

New project. Old project.

Change platform. Hustle.

Change platform. Hustle.

This has been my life for fifteen to twenty years. I start one project get bored and move on to another. In the middle of blogging on one platform move to another with hopes of more sign...

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Why I stopped blogging on STEEM


Categories: [Content Creation]

For a long time I was a blogger on a self-hosted domain, and much of that time it was on this exact domain. Then I found out about STEEM one day after looking over new Cryptocurrency to move money into and thought it was a great idea.

"I can write blog posts to earn more cryptocurrency? That's awe...

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