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● 04.30.23


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● Links 30/04/2023: SystemTap 4.9 and Gnuastro 0.20


Posted in News Roundup at 11:34 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz


GNU/Linux


Server


↺ Which operating system is best for a VPS OS, Linux or Windows?


Looking for the best VPS OS for beginners? Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you compare the features of different options available today.


While most people are familiar with VPNs and their use cases, only a few know about VPN’s more powerful and secure software brother, VPS.


Audiocasts/Shows


↺ 2023-04-29 [Older] Linux performance boosts, Flathub redesign & EU crackdown: Linux & Open Source News


↺ 2023-04-29 [Older] Flathub’s New Website Is 1000x Better


↺ 2023-04-29 [Older] Give the ‘bat’ command wings with ‘bat-extras’


↺ 2023-04-28 [Older] Manjaro 22.1.0 “Talos” Xfce Edition overview | OS FOR EVERYONE


↺ 2023-04-28 [Older] We break down this new LEAKED Steam Deck hardware revision! | Steam Deck News № 80


↺ 2023-04-27 [Older] Trisquel GNU/Linux 11.0 Quick Overview #shorts


↺ 2023-04-27 [Older] Yours Truly With Rene Ritchie Speculating on WWDC


↺ 2023-04-27 [Older] Fedora 39 Changes 1 Line Saving Hours Of Pain


↺ 2023-04-27 [Older] OpenSUSE Tumbleweed is the best rolling release, but it’s not perfect


↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] Watch this video before using Atlas OS Windows


↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] Ubuntu 23.04 overview | Upgrade your desktop.


↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] Do I Ever Miss Windows? (YES!)


↺ 2023-04-25 [Older] GIMP GTK3 Port Is Complete: GIMP 3.0.0 Soon???


↺ 2023-04-25 [Older] 9 Projects that CHANGED the Linux world!


↺ 2023-04-25 [Older] How to install CLion on Linux Lite 6.2


↺ 2023-04-25 [Older] My Raspberry Pi Desktop


↺ 2023-04-24 [Older] Steam Deck + TV: The secret to a sublime PC gaming experience


↺ 2023-04-24 [Older] New Found Love For Linux Kernel Developers


↺ 2023-04-24 [Older] How to install OpenTTD on Linux Lite 6.2


↺ 2023-04-23 [Older] A Quick Look At Ubuntu 23.04 “Lunar Lobster”


↺ 2023-04-23 [Older] Daily Life Of An Open Source Project Maintainer


↺ 2023-04-22 [Older] Fedora 38 RELEASED: 10 EXCITING Improvements and Features You Can’t Miss! (+BONUS)


↺ 2023-04-22 [Older] Proton 8.0: The Biggest Update Yet for Steam Deck and Linux Gaming!


↺ 2023-04-22 [Older] Ubuntu 23.04 Full Review – An Attempt was Made


↺ 2023-04-22 [Older] How Do Arch User Repository Packages Become Official?


↺ 2023-04-22 [Older] Fedora Workstation 38 Rull Review – A Fantastic GNOME Experience!


↺ 2023-04-22 [Older] Solus lives, Fedora 38, Ubuntu 23.04 & big KDE app updates – Linux & Open Source News


↺ 2023-04-27 [Older] The Linux Link Tech Show Episode 1002


Kernel Space


↺ Linux Kernel 6.3 Released


↺ Preliminary support for fscrypt v2


The ext4 filesystem supports per-folder encryption, called “fscrypt”. This is a feature that can be enabled using the ‘tune2fs’ utility.


In EasyOS, the working-partition (usually) has fscrypt enabled, and some folders are encrypted. This means, if the drive is stolen, no one will be able to read the contents of those folders.


The advantage of encrypting a folder, compared with a file as may be done in Puppy Linux, is the folder has no size limit, or rather, it is the limit of free space in the partition.


There is a utility name ‘e4crypt’ in the initrd, that decrypts these folders at bootup. Easy has used this utility up until the present; however, it is what is called “version 1″ fscrypt, and has some serious problems with multiple users.


When I took Easy down the path of running apps as separate users, things got complicated. I had to use the ‘keyctl’ utility for each user to decipher the folders. And recently it got even more complicated with Flatpaks, that run in a sandbox and have great difficulties with recognizing the kernel keys — meaning unable to access the encrypted folders.


Since the 5.4 kernel, I think about 2020, there has been fscrypt v2, that looks like it might make usage with multiple users much easier. Here is some early information about v2:


Applications


↺ SystemTap release 4.9


↺ SystemTap 4.9 released [LWN.net]


Version 4.9 of the SystemTap tracing tool has been released. The headline changes this time include a new, Jupyter-based frontend and a language-server-protocol interface for name completion.


↺ Wireshark 4.0.5 Released, (Sat, Apr 29th)


Wireshark version 4.0.5 was released with 11 bugs and 3 vulnerabilities fixed.


↺ Meet Snapshot, GNOME’s New Camera App


GNOME devs have released the first version of a new camera app which could replace the classic Cheese webcam utility.


Instructionals/Technical


↺ How To Install LEMP Stack on Fedora 38


In this tutorial, we will show you how to install the LEMP stack on Fedora 38. LEMP stands for Linux, Nginx, MySQL, and PHP. This means that we are going to install and configure these software packages on our server to set up a fully functional web server.


↺ Manage Secrets in Portainer for Docker and Kubernetes


Deploying a very basic Docker container isn’t all that hard.


↺ How To Install Java on Fedora 38


In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Java on Fedora 38. Are you a developer who needs to work with Java on your Fedora 38 system? Look no further! Java is an incredibly versatile and popular programming language, known for its cross-platform compatibility and extensive libraries.


↺ Install and Use Qemu on Ubuntu


Learn how to properly install Qemu in Ubuntu and then configure a Linux distro in VM.


↺ Debian Installer Bookworm RC2 Released


In preparing for releasing Debian 12.0 “Bookworm” in June, out this weekend is the second release candidate of the Debian Installer for this next major Debian Linux release…


↺ How to Add Sudo User on RHEL / Rocky Linux / Alma Linux


In this tutorial, we will cover how to add a sudo user on RHEL, Rocky Linux and Alma Linux.


↺ The ultimate guide to creating a Pop!_OS bootable USB drive


Pop!_OS is a user-friendly and visually appealing Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. It’s designed to offer a smooth and efficient experience for both beginners and advanced users. If you’re interested in trying out Pop!_OS or installing it on your computer, creating a bootable USB is an essential first step.


↺ Clear Linux Cache (Memory, Swap and Buffer)


Linux is renowned for its stability, efficiency, and robustness, making it a preferred choice for many system administrators and users. However, as with any other operating system, Linux-based systems may experience a decline in performance due to memory cache buildup over time.


↺ A Deep Dive into Set Options in Bash


Bash is a powerful and versatile Unix shell that has become the default command-line interface on most Linux distributions and macOS. Shell scripting is an essential skill for system administrators, programmers, and anyone who wants to automate tasks or improve their workflow.


↺ Converting UIColors to CSS colors


I recently wanted to convert a UIColor to a CSS-compatible string so I could update the color inside a webview. Here’s how I did it.


↺ Memoirs from the old web: The KEYGEN element


Anyone who has setup a website will appreciate that SSL/TLS requires a web server to have an SSL certificate authenticating its identity. However, while TLS requires a server certificate, it also has optional support for client certificates, whereby a client connecting to a TLS server must also authenticate its identity to the server. Just as in the case of server certificates, this is done by presenting a certificate and proving ownership of the corresponding private key.


↺ The unbearable tightness of printing


If you deviate from any of the above steps, the output will be silently wrong. If you process the resulting PDF with anything except Adobe’s tool suite the end result might become silently wrong. As an example here is the output of colour separation using Adobe Acrobat and Ghostscript.


↺ How To Trust A Machine


Essentially, this boils down to: Trust, Verify and Hold Accountable. To put this dogma in perspective, it helps to understand that this approach may be harmful to human relationships (which could explain the social awkwardness of hackers), but it remains useful as a method to improve the design of computer systems, and a useful method to evaluate safety of computer systems. When a system fails some of the criteria above, we know we have more work to do to improve it.


↺ How to create a bar chart from a CSV file with Haskell


Today I wanted to create a bar chart for a new blog post on blog.airsequel.com. It was supposed to show the number of days between each SQLite release. I decided to use Haskell, but I couldn’t find any good code examples out there. So, I went ahead and wrote the code from scratch. 😮‍💨 I’m sharing it here in hopes of sparing the next person the time and effort. 😅


↺ A crontab related mistake you can make with internal email ratelimits


Suppose, not entirely hypothetically, that something has a crontab job that runs once a minute and that has started to generate output every time it runs, which cron will email to the crontab’s owner (or MAILTO setting). This means that this machine is now running right at the edge of its sending ratelimit; if it generates even one more email message (for example from some other cron job that runs once a day to notify you about pending package updates on that machine), it will hit the ratelimit and have an email message stalled. Once even a single message stalls, this machine will never recover and will always have something in its local mail queue. If it sends a second extra email, you’ll wind up with the local mail queue always having two things waiting, and so on.


↺ How To Install Node.js on Fedora 38


In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Node.js on Fedora 38. If you’re a web developer or a programming enthusiast, you must have heard of Node.Js. It’s a powerful platform that allows you to build server-side applications using JavaScript, a language traditionally used for client-side scripting in web browsers.


↺ How to upgrade to Fedora 38


Fedora Linux 38 is now available, featuring Gnome 44, Linux 6.2, numerous new BtrFS fixes, and other updates. In this guide, we will show you how to upgrade your Fedora Linux installation to the new 38 release.


↺ How to Play Doom in Your Linux Terminal


Doom is the classic first-person shooter from the 1990s and has been adapted from its PC roots to play on everything from a Lego brick to a pregnancy test.


↺ How to Install GPU-Viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04


In the modern computing world, GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) have become an essential computer system component, particularly for tasks like gaming, video editing, and AI research.


↺ How to Install HPLIP on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04


Hewlett-Packard Linux Imaging and Printing (HPLIP) is a versatile and powerful solution designed to enhance the printing, scanning, and faxing experience for HP devices on Linux systems. Ubuntu users can significantly benefit from installing HPLIP, as it provides an all-in-one package for managing their HP devices efficiently.


↺ How To Manage MicroPython Modules With Mip on Raspberry Pi Pico


MicroPython has a new and lightweight MicroPython package manager for all of your MicroPython module needs.


↺ How To Install Multimedia Codecs In Fedora Linux


This guide explains how to install multimedia codecs in Fedora 38 and older versions from RPM Fusion software repository.


↺ How To Enable RPM Fusion Repository In Fedora, RHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux


This guide explains what is RPM Fusion repository and how to enable RPM Fusion repository in Fedora, RHEL, CentOS, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux.


↺ How to install Beyond compare on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04 LTS


Beyond Compare is a free (trial) and paid software application that allows users to compare and syn files & folders [sic] on their PC system. It is developed by Scooter Software.


Games


↺ Steam Deck Launches in Stores in Japan – Full Coverage


I am just back from a full day out in Osaka to cover the fact that the Steam Deck launches in stores in Japan for the first time, and probably also worldwide.


↺ The Striking Soulslikes bundle has some punishment ready for you


Think you have what it takes? These games might test your limits. The Striking Soulslike Bundle is live and here’s what compatibility to expect on Linux desktop and Steam Deck.


↺ Compatibility layer Wine release v8.7 is out now


Wine, the compatibility layer for running Windows apps and games on Linux has a fresh development release up with version 8.7. Once a year a new stable releasing is made with the next being Wine 9.0, and Wine is just one part of what allows Steam Play Proton to play some of the biggest games around on Linux desktop and Steam Deck.


↺ Is X4: Kingdom End worth your money?


It has been over four years since X4: Foundations was released. With the new fourth DLC Kingdom End, Egosoft has now brought the last of the original races back into the game, namely the peaceful and scientifically highly motivated Borons.


↺ FOSS I Love: Local game streaming with Sunshine and Moonlight


Here I’ll write an ode to two closely-linked FOSS projects that have, recently, absolutely floored me with their competence & quality: Sunshine and Moonlight. These are used to stream video games over a (usually local) network. Sunshine is a game streaming server: it runs on your PC as it chugs away doing all the heavy lifting of running the game itself, while Moonlight is a game streaming client that runs on whatever thin hardware exists where you want to play the game! I run Sunshine on my home office workstation and Moonlight on a NVIDIA Shield Android TV connected to a 55″ screen in the living room. Some games are just best played on the couch! It’s also important if you have someone you want to share the experience with instead of sequestering yourself alone in your dark Gamer Den.


Distributions and Operating Systems


Fedora Family / IBM


↺ How a little tech startup in the Triangle took on Microsoft … and won – Raleigh News & Observer


↺ 30 Years of Red Hat: From a Durham apartment to life under IBM – Raleigh News & Observer


Debian Family


↺ Debian 11.7 releases with the latest security updates


Debian 11.7 has just been released. It rolls all of the available fixes into a new ISO image. If you have Debian installed already, just apply the latest updates to be upgraded to Debian 11.7.


↺ Debian 11.7 (Bullseye) Is Here as a Bugfix Release


Although all eyes are on the upcoming Debian 12 (Bookworm), which, as our media informs you, already has a release date scheduled, the current stable Debian 11 (Bullseye) release is the distribution focus at the moment.


In this light, powered by Linux kernel 5.10.0-22, Debian has released its latest version, 11.7, to continue the stable 11.x (Bullseye) series, which was first introduced in August 2021.


↺ Andrew Cater: And it’s now after 2100 – so the unexpurgated version


We’re all but done – a couple of bugs sorted. All testing complete.


↺ Andrew Cater: Release testing for 11.7 – pictures (with appropriate identity protection)


↺ Andrew Cater: Debian Bullseye 11.7 release – testing going on – 202304291427


We’ve been joined by Simon (smcv) – lots of chat bouncing backwards and forwards. Laptops appearing out of backpacks suddenly being repurposed.


Settling very much into a rhythm and routine.


Working with two laptops on your lap ends up being quite heavy


Debian 11.7 “Bullseye” Released with 102 Security Updates and 92 Bug FixesDebian 11.7 is here almost four and a half months after Debian 11.6 to provide those who want to deploy the Debian GNU/Linux 11 “Bullseye” operating system series on new computers with up-to-date installation media so you won’t have to download hundreds of updated from the repositories after the installation.This means that Debian 11.7 includes all the security and software updates that have been released from December 17th, 2022, when Debian GNU/Linux 11.6 was released, until today. In numbers, Debian 11.7 includes a total of 102 security updates and miscellaneous bug fixes for 92 packages.

↺ Debian Installer Bookworm RC 2 release


Canonical/Ubuntu Family


↺ Ubuntu 23.10 goes all-in on the mythical creature theme with Mantic Minotaur codename


Canonical has announced that Ubuntu 23.10, which is due out in October, will carry the codename Mantic Minotaur. It’s typical for Ubuntu to receive a codename of an endangered animal like a Pangolin but it seems with this release, the company has decided to go entirely with non-existent creatures.


The adjective, Mantic, “relating to divination or prophecy”, comes from the Greek word mantikos and mantis which means prophet. So you could read Mantic Minotaur as Prophetic Minotaur.


The disclosure of the codename for Ubuntu 23.10 comes nearly a month after the cycle’s calendar was published in which it states that a beta will be made available on 21st September and the final release due on 12th October. The beta will give the public an opportunity to try it out and report any last-minute bugs that developers may have missed.


Devices/Embedded


↺ TESPuino board comes in an Arduino UNO form-factor


Kickstarter featured this week an Open-source development ESP32-based board designed for learning and quick prototyping. The TESPuino provides up to 14x GPIOs, 1x MicroSD card slot for storage and 1x USB Type-C port programming and power.


Open Hardware/Modding


↺ Building A WiFi Picture Frame With An EInk Display


LCD photo frames never really caught on — by emitting light, they didn’t seamlessly blend in with a home’s decor in the way printed photos do. [Sprite_tm] decided to see if a color e-Ink screen could do any better, and whipped up a WiFi-enabled photo frame using a Waveshare display.


↺ Raspberry Pi tripod and Camera Support


Shared by feiticeir0 on Thingiverse, this neat tripod and camera support comes in handy!


↺ Schneider Euro PC: Restoration Part 3


Last time I got as far as the Euro PC showing tons of BIOS errors on the screen, which is a good first step. This time I try to get a little further…


↺ New App Shows Raspberry Pi Pico Pinout at Command Line


Pinout.xyz has released a new command line-based GPIO pinout chart for the Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller.


↺ The World’s First Agricultural Right To Repair Law


Long time readers will know that occasionally we mix up our usual subject matter with a dash of farm equipment. Usually the yellow and green variants that come from John Deere, as the agricultural manufacturer has become the poster child for all that is wrong in the fight for the right to repair. An old Deere is worth more than a nearly new one in many places, because for several years now their models have had all their parts locked down by DRM technologies such that only their own fitters can replace them. Now after a long legal fight involving many parties, the repair and parts company iFixit sound justifiably pleased as they announce the world’s first agricultural right to repair law being passed in the US state of Colorado. (Nitter)


Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications


↺ How to Set Up Google Wallet and a Password Manager to Store Your Important Cards and IDs on Android


↺ OnePlus 11 Ultra? Lucky for Samsung, the best Android flagship is a phone OnePlus refuses to make – PhoneArena


↺ Travel Often? You Will Love This Upcoming Android Setting Timeline Feature! – Gizchina.com


↺ Android introduce separate notification and ringtone volume control


↺ Free storage space on your Android phone using these simple tricks | Technology News,The Indian Express


↺ Samsung Galaxy phones set for blockbuster Android upgrade but is your device on the list? – Mirror Online


↺ Check Out These 5 Best Android Apps Of The Week – Gizchina


↺ How To Find Saved Passwords On Your Android Phone


↺ How To Open RAR Files On Android


↺ Google says Android will separate notification and ringtone volume


↺ Google risks trashing Android customization by ignoring the custom icon problem


↺ 5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week – Android Apps Weekly


↺ Paranoid Android gets better on Nothing Phone 1 with Topaz v2 release


↺ Nothing Phone (1) soon to receive Android 14 Beta 1 – GSMArena.com news


↺ Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi Pad 6 starts testing Android 14


Free, Libre, and Open Source Software


↺ “Meet the Techs of Tomorrow Where They Are Today”: A Conversation With Stu Keroff


I remember reading an article about Linux back in (maybe) 1998 or 1999, and I was fascinated by it, but I didn’t actually try it for the first time until late 2005.


I obtained a used computer from a tech friend and started experimenting with it. My first distros were Linspire and Mepis. From there, I moved to Ubuntu. At first, it was just having fun and learning how to make things work. Then, I started trying to do more of my teaching work using Linux. Then, it was getting students interested and involved.


I first started doing Linux clubs at school back in 2012, and the whole thing started by accident. Our school had started a 1:1 laptop program that year, and almost immediately students started breaking and losing laptops. I wanted to integrate tech into my teaching, but I would have students in each class that did not have a laptop because they had broken it.


Events


↺ Linux App Summit 2023


Last weekend I attended the Linux App Summit (LAS) 2023 in Brno, Czechia, to speak about push notifications and to get a fewremaining interoperability issues sorted out.


While my goal for last LAS was to finally meet people in person again for the first time since the pandemic, I had a much more specific objective this time, get the remaining questions around UnifiedPush on Linux sorted out.


↺ Abhijith PA: Attending FOSSASIA 2023


I attended FOSSASIA 2023 summit held at Lifelong Learning Institute, Singapore. A 3 day long parallel talk filled conference. Its my second time attending FOSSASIA. The first one was 2018 summit. Like last time, I didn’t attend much talks but focussed on networking with people. A lot of familiar faces there. PV Anthony, Harish, etc.


I vounteered to run Debian Booth at the exhibition hall distributing stickers, flyers. Rajudev also helped me at the booth. Most of the people there used debian or its derivates or know debian already, its easier for me that way, that I don’t have do much explaining compared to other booths. Thanks to Parth for looking after booth in my breaks.


SaaS/Back End/Databases


↺ Exciting SQLite Improvements Since 2020


So let’s take a look at some of the exciting improvements and refinements that SQLite has seen since 2020. This list focuses on changes related to the supported SQL instructions and the CLI.


FSFE


↺ 2023-04-28 LLW 2023: learning and exchanging legal knowledge


↺ 2023-04-25 [Older] The FSFE is helping to build an ‘Internet of Humans’


GNU Projects


↺ Gnuastro 0.20 released


Dear all,


I am happy to announce the 20th stable version of Gnuastro: version 0.20.


Gnuastro is an official GNU package, consisting of various command-line programs, C/C++ library functions and Makefile extensions for the manipulation and analysis of (astronomical) data. All the programs share the same basic command-line user interface (modeled on GNU Coreutils). For the full list of Gnuastro’s library, programs, and several comprehensive tutorials (recommended place to start using Gnuastro), please see the links below respectively:


https://www.gnu.org/s/gnuastro/manual/html_node/Gnuastro-library.html


https://www.gnu.org/s/gnuastro/manual/html_node/Gnuastro-programs-list.html


https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuastro/manual/html_node/Tutorials.html


In the 27 weeks since 0.19, there have been 122 commits by 12 people with 15265 lines of code and documentation inserted and 5779 deleted. See [1] for the list of people who contributed for all the exciting new features that have been added (thanks a lot everyone!). For the full list of added and changed features, as well as the fixed bugs, please see [2].


Here is the compressed source and the GPG detached signature for this release. To uncompress Lzip tarballs, see [3]. To check the validity of the tarballs using the GPG detached signature (*.sig) see [4]. See [5] for the list of software used to bootstrap this tarball.


https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnuastro/gnuastro-0.20.tar.lz (4.4MB) https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnuastro/gnuastro-0.20.tar.gz (7.0MB) https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnuastro/gnuastro-0.20.tar.lz.sig (833B) https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnuastro/gnuastro-0.20.tar.gz.sig (833B)


Here are the SHA1 and SHA256 checksums (other ways to check if the tarball you download is what we distributed). Just note that the SHA256 checksum is base64 encoded, instead of the hexadecimal encoding that most checksum tools default to (see [6] on how to generate it).


c8d2c8f8cb32ff7bac3d6c0dc281295cbc8f251b gnuastro-0.20.tar.lz VkBKS5GeEGdC102c53QCQTxZWz2giCcqmKmr1UFTcxU= gnuastro-0.20.tar.lz eab2aeb48f68a8b43f48f8bebb46b6fd74455a48 gnuastro-0.20.tar.gz kkuLtqwc0VFj3a3Dqb/bi4jKx7UJnV+CHs7bw/Cwac0= gnuastro-0.20.tar.gz


If any of Gnuastro’s programs or libraries are useful in your work, please cite _and_ acknowledge them. For citation and acknowledgment guidelines, run the relevant programs with a `–cite’ option (it can be different for different programs, so run it for all the programs you use). Citations _and_ acknowledgments are vital for the continued work on Gnuastro, so please don’t forget to support us by doing so.


Best wishes, Mohammad


↺ Gnuastro 0.20 released


The 20th release of GNU Astronomy Utilities (Gnuastro) is now available. See the full announcement for all the new features in this release and the many bugs that have been found and fixed: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnuastro/2023-04/msg00001.html


↺ Gnuastro


↺ Gnuastro 0.20


Openness/Sharing/Collaboration


Open Access/Content


↺ I got a DOI from arXiv for my MSc!


I couldn’t find a way to publish this via my university, which was a little disappointing. And I didn’t have the time or energy to rewrite it for submission to a journal. Then a couple of people suggest that I submit it to arXiv.


Programming/Development


↺ Mastering Functions in JavaScript: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Efficient Code


JavaScript, a versatile and widely used programming language, is an essential tool for web developers. One of the key concepts in JavaScript is the function, which allows you to write reusable and maintainable code.


↺ Mastering Variables and Data Types in JavaScript: A Comprehensive Guide


JavaScript is a powerful, versatile, and widely-used programming language that has become an essential tool for modern web development. Understanding the basics of JavaScript, such as variables and data types, is crucial for any aspiring web developer.


↺ WrappR for Rstudio: Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Wrap Highlighted Text With Custom Code


Introduction: While coding in RStudio I wanted to use the RStudio keyboard shortcuts to wrap functions and custom lines of code around datasets, code, or objects in the editor pane. I could not find what I wanted after reviewing various packages and solutions.


↺ Humble Chronicles: State Management


Recently I’ve been trying to improve state management and component API in Humble UI. For that, I’ve tried to read and compile all the possible known approaches and synthesize something from them.


I haven’t decided on anything for Humble UI yet, let’s say I’m in an experimenting phase. But I think my notes could be useful to quickly get a birds-eye overview of the field.


This is a compilation of my research so far.


↺ Russ Allbery: INN 2.7.1


This is a bug fix and minor feature release over INN 2.7.0, and the upgrade should be painless. You can download the new release fromISC ormy personal INN pages. The latter also has links to the full changelog and the other INN documentation. As of this release, we’re no longer generating hashes and signed hashes. Instead, the release is a simple tarball and a detached GnuPG signature, similar to my other software releases.


Perl / Raku


↺ 2023-04-28 [Older] Perl Weekly Challenge #214 – Rank Score


↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] Assert Your Environment


↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] Dot Your Environment


↺ 2023-04-23 [Older] Perl Weekly Challenge #213 – The Simple and the Hard


Python


↺ Python GUIs: Crafting Your First Tkinter Application Step-by-Step


In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a simple graphical user interface (GUI) using Python and Tkinter. We’ll guide you through the process of crafting your first Tkinter application step-by-step, from installing the necessary dependencies to building and running the app.


↺ Getting Started With PyTest Fixtures


PyTest is a popular testing framework for Python programming language. Fixtures in PyTest provide a way to manage the resources and data required for running tests. They simplify the process of setting up, tearing down, and sharing test data between test functions. PyTest fixtures provide a convenient way to define these resources and data once and reuse them across multiple tests, saving time and reducing the chance of errors.


In this tutorial, you will learn what PyTest fixtures are, why they are used, and how to define and use them in your tests. To explore the usage of Pytest fixtures, you’ll be creating a simple note-taking application that lets users add, edit, and get notes.


↺ Enrico Zini: Gkt4 model-backed radio button in Python


Gtk4 has interesting ways of splitting models and views. One that I didn’t find very well documented, especially for Python bindings, is a set of radio buttons backed by a common model.


The idea is to define an action that takes a string as a state. Each radio button is assigned a string matching one of the possible states, and when the state of the backend action is changed, the radio buttons are automatically updated.


All the examples below use a string for a value type, but anything can be used that fits into a GLib.Variant.


This defines the action. Note that enables all the usual declarative ways of a status change: [...]


Leftovers


↺ Visiting Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture


Much of my latest Japan trip was unfortunately spent with a series of headaches, but in a roundabout way they lead Clara and I to a new place we’d never been to before! And it was just what the doctor ordered.


We’d had such success at the Hard Off second-hand electronics store in Kyōto, that we decided to check out another branch that was accessible by rail. Unlike car or bus rides, the smooth and comfortable intercity trains in Japan are a great way to explore with a headache. Maybe that’s another avenue for tourism promotion they should consider!


↺ Margaret


↺ I Am a Camera


I have stolen this title from the stage play of the same name based on Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin. The title is taken from a quote in the novel’s first page: “I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.”


↺ Brainstorming an organization to place pianos in airports


One of my favourite parts of travelling to a destination by plane — and indeed train — is to play an available piano. I find playing piano relaxing, a way for me to take a break from thinking about all of the details of my journey. With that said, there are many airports without pianos, and many more that have one piano in a single terminal but no pianos in other terminals. I was speaking with a few people about how we could help place pianos in airports where one is not available, providing travellers with the ability to have the same experience I and many other travellers have: a moment to sit back and make music between legs of a journey.


↺ Obituary: Rubbernecking for Jerry Springer


He was sweeter than Howard Stern, realer than Phil Donahue. His coolness gave his show its plausible deniability.


Science


↺ Physicists Discover a Strange New Theoretical Phase of Hydrogen


This is really weird.


↺ Even Clouds Are Carrying Drug-Resistant Bacteria, New Study Finds


Et tu, clouds?


↺ Thinking Inside The Box


Last week, I wrote about NASA’s technology demonstrator projects, and how they’ve been runaway successes – both the Mars rovers and the current copter came from such experimental beginnings. I argued that letting some spirit of experimentation into an organization like NASA is probably very fruitful from time to time.


↺ “A Courtroom Is a Really Lousy Place to Decide Science”


In 2017, as lawyers for prisoners in Ohio sought to spare their clients from lethal injection, they challenged one of the state’s key witnesses: Daniel Buffington.


As he had done elsewhere, the Florida-based pharmacist had submitted written testimony saying that prisoners would not feel pain from the three-drug cocktail administered by executioners. But the lawyers for the men on death row argued that Buffington was unqualified to testify in an upcoming hearing, noting that he had not administered general anesthesia or conducted research on midazolam, the key sedative in the execution protocol.


↺ A Pharmacist Is Helping Clear the Way for Lethal Injections


Last winter, Dr. Gail Van Norman sat on the witness stand in the federal courthouse in Oklahoma City, testifying as part of a trial that would determine whether Oklahoma’s lethal injection procedure was constitutional. Two weeks earlier, at the request of lawyers representing more than two dozen prisoners, Van Norman, an anesthesiologist and professor at the University of Washington, had attended the execution of a man named Gilbert Ray Postelle.


In the execution chamber, she testified, Postelle was lying face-up on a gurney with his arms stretched out beside him. Executioners injected him with midazolam, a drug that was supposed to knock him unconscious so he didn’t feel pain from two drugs that would soon paralyze him and stop his heart. It didn’t appear to work. For 2 1/2 minutes after receiving midazolam, Postelle continued to wiggle his hands and feet. His eyes remained open, blinking and looking up at the ceiling. Postelle’s breathing became increasingly strenuous and rapid. Van Norman said his trouble breathing was a result of the large dose of midazolam.


Education


↺ From Canada to Cabo part 6: educating our daughter in Mexico


In part six of her series, Christina shares the experience of moving from Canadian to Mexican schools, and the benefits for her daughter.


↺ This Is What the Right-Wing Takeover of a Progressive College Looks Like


The slow and steady dismantling of New College of Florida.


↺ HBL: Some Kenyan students in Finland have resorted to prostitution to fund education


There has been immense confusion over the “education export” programme both in Finland and Kenya.


Hardware


↺ Alternatives To Pins And Holes For 3D Printed Assemblies


When we have two 3D printed parts that need to fit together, many of us rely on pins and holes to locate them and fix them together. [Slant 3D] has explored some alternative ideas in this area that may open up new avenues for your own designs.


↺ Don’t Let The Baluns Float Over Your Head


Most ham radio operators will build an antenna of some sort when they first start listening or transmitting, whether it’s a simple dipole, a beam antenna like a Yagi, or even just a random wire vertical antenna. All of these will need to be connected feedline of some sort, and in the likely event you reach for some 50-ohm coax cable you’ll also need a balun to reduce noise or unwanted radiation. Don’t be afraid of extra expenses when getting into this hobby, though, as [W6NBC] demonstrates how to construct an “ugly balun” out of the coax wire itself (PDF).


↺ Hackaday Prize 2023: Tiny RC Aircraft Built Using Foam And ESP12


Once upon a time, a radio controlled plane was a hefty and complex thing. They required small nitro engines, support equipment, and relatively heavy RC electronics. Times have changed since then, as this lightweight RC build from [Ravi Butani] demonstrates.


↺ Dell XPS 15 (9530) Review: A Familiar Face With a Raptor Lake Infusion


Our XPS 15 review sample came configured with an Intel Core i7-13700H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.


↺ New Farming Robot Uses AI to Kill 100,000 Weeds per Hour


“Unlike other weeding technologies, the robots utilize high-power lasers to eradicate weeds through thermal energy, without disturbing the soil. The automated robots allow farmers to use fewer herbicides and reduce labor to remove unwanted plants while improving the reliability and predictability of costs, crop yield, and more.”


Health/Nutrition/Agriculture


↺ Menopause Costs U.S. Women $1.8 Billion In Lost Working Time, Study Shows


Some are taking sick days. Others are cutting back their hours. Still others end up quitting altogether.


↺ Scientist Revisits Data on Raccoon Dogs and Covid, Stressing the Unknowns


After analyzing genetic data swabbed from a Wuhan market in early 2020, a virologist said it was unclear if animals for sale there had been infected.


↺ The Curious Side Effects of Medical Transparency


When we peer into our patient portals, we don’t always see ourselves more clearly.


↺ Scientists Just Quantified The Shocking Extent of Type 2 Diabetes Due to Poor Diet


We have to do something.


↺ Mouse Study Reveals An Immune Cell That May Cause Fibromyalgia


They’re not where they should be.


Proprietary


↺ 2023-04-25 [Older] Track your OpenShift costs more easily on Azure with new and improved capabilities in Red Hat Cost Management


↺ 2023-04-25 [Older] Red Hat’s OpenShift Certification Pathways evolve to meet the growing demand for cloud-native skills


↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] FLOSS Weekly 729: Commitment Issues – Stormy Peters, GitHub Accellerator


↺ Russell Coker: Write a blog post in the style of Russell Coker


Feeling a bit bored I asked ChatGPT “Write a blog post in the style of Russell Coker” and the result is in the section below. I don’t know if ChatGPT knows that the person asking the question is the same as the person being asked about. If a human had created that I’d be certain that “great computer scientist and writer” was an attempt at flattery, for a machine I’m not sure.


I have not written a single book, but I expect that in some alternate universe some version of me has written several. I don’t know if humans would describe my writing as being known for “clarity, precision, and depth”. I would not be surprised if “no-one else wrote about it so I guess I’m forced to read what he wrote” would be a more common response.


The actual “article” part doesn’t seem to be in my style at all. [...]


↺ Spending on cloud infrastructure services tops $63B in the first quarter


Worldwide spending across the three product categories totaled $63.7 billion in the first quarter, according to Synergy Research. That’s $11 billion more than what organizations spent the same time a year earlier. But although cloud investments increased significantly, demand is growing at a slower pace than in previous years.


↺ Why Multi-Cloud Failed


Multi-cloud had many theoretical benefits. Cost-efficient. Flexible. No vendor lock-in. Best-of-breed services. Increased bargaining power. Risk mitigation.


Of course, none of these came true. In fact, many of these predictions actually ended up working in the opposite direction. Some reasons why multi-cloud failed.


Security


↺ Git 2.40.1 & Other Updates Address Three High-Impact Security Vulnerabilities


Git 2.40.1 has been released to address three new security vulnerabilities being disclosed, which have been classified as “high-severity” by the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) due to their high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact, and the low attack complexity and lack of privileges required to exploit them. Due to these security fixes, updates for prior stable Git series are also availble with v2.39.3, v2.38.5, v2.37.7, v2.36.6, v2.35.8, v2.34.8, v2.33.8, v2.32.7, v2.31.8, and v2.30.9.


↺ Password converted to 64-byte hash


I posted yesterday about fscrypt v2:


https://bkhome.org/news/202304/preliminary-support-for-fscrypt-v2.html


There is a security concern, as the password the user types in at bootup is used to create the encrypted folders. Quoting from here:


https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/filesystems/fscrypt.html


Master keys must be real cryptographic keys, i.e. indistinguishable from random bytestrings of the same length. This implies that users must not directly use a password as a master key, zero-pad a shorter key, or repeat a shorter key. Security cannot be guaranteed if userspace makes any such error, as the cryptographic proofs and analysis would no longer apply.


↺ Two ransomware groups list Albany ENT & Allergy Services on their leak sites


BianLian often uses the asterisk system before they actually name the victim and leak data.


↺ Stronger cybersecurity, reducing cyber incidents, greater EU ‘strategic autonomy’? Three interesting features of the proposed EU Cyber Solidarity Act


On April 18, 2023, the European Commission published its proposal for an EU Cyber Solidarity Act (“CSA”). It aims to strengthen incident detection, situational awareness, and response capabilities, and to ensure that entities providing services critical for day-to-day life can access expert support to manage their cyber risk and respond to incidents. Specifically, the CSA aims to promote information sharing about cyber incidents and vulnerabilities, to help improve the cyber resilience of critical entities, and to create an EU-wide resource for incident management.


The CSA adds another layer to the increasingly crowded landscape of EU cybersecurity laws. The proposed law would interact with the revised Network and Information Security Directive (“NIS2”) and certifications issued under the Cybersecurity Act. Private companies in specific sectors will also have to consider potential overlap with the forthcoming Cyber Resilience Act and the financial services-focused Digital Operation Resilience Act.


↺ WRDSB retirees say they felt left in the dark after data compromised in cyberattack


In the wake of a cyberattack at the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) this past summer, some of the people impacted are raising questions about how it was handled.


The data accessed by hackers included details about employees dating back to 1970.


But some of those former employees say getting information about what happened, along with their risks, was difficult.


↺ Emmanuel College working to recover from attack that claims faculty and student data stolen


Emmanuel College in Boston appears to have become a victim of Avos Locker. The college was added to the threat actor’s leak site yesterday, with a note saying,


↺ United HealthCare reports data breach that may have revealed customer’s personal information


United HealthCare made customers aware of a data breach on Friday, which temporarily allowed access to personal information for those enrolled in the company’s healthcare plans.


According to a statement, “suspicious activity” was noticed on the UHC mobile application “that may have led to the disclosure of member information.”


The company says that the breach happened between February 19 and February 25, and it was determined on April 10 that some member information was impacted.


They believe that information including members’ first and last names, health insurance member identification numbers, dates of birth, addresses, dates of service, provider names, claim information and group name and number may have been available.


↺ Some ‘sensitive information’ potentially compromised: Diocese of Las Vegas reports cybersecurity breach


The Diocese of Las Vegas on Friday announced a cybersecurity breach that potentially compromised “sensitive information of its volunteers, parishioners, donors and other stakeholders,” a news release states.


A spokesperson noted there was “no indication that personal information has been misused,” but said the Diocese would notify those who may have been impacted.


↺ Amnesty International Australia Suffered a Data Breach in December, but Says Everything is Now Fine


On late Friday, Amnesty International Australia sent an email to supporters informing them their data may be at risk due to “anomalous activity” detected in its IT environment.


While the email went out very late in the day/week, it also went out a very long time after the activity was found. The email, sighted by Gizmodo Australia, says the activity was detected late last year.


Privacy/Surveillance


↺ Telegram App Back on in Brazil After Judge Lifts Suspension


Internet providers and wireless carriers in Brazil have stopped blocking Telegram after a federal judge partially revised a ruling suspending the social media app over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity


↺ FBI queries for Americans’ digital data drops, yet advocates for surveillance reform remain undeterred


The drop in searches reflects a number of factors, according to the report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. First, the FBI used a new methodology to calculate the number of searches performed under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which allows intelligence and law enforcement agencies to gather online communications of foreign intelligence targets. The program also sweeps up Americans’ data, making it a lucrative source of information for so-called “backdoor” searches by the FBI in investigating U.S. persons.


↺ The STOP CSAM Act: An Anti-Encryption Stalking Horse


E2EE’s growing ubiquity seems like a clear win for personal privacy, security, and safety, as well as national security and the economy. And yet E2EE’s popularity has its critics – including, unfortunately, Sen. Durbin. Because it’s harder for providers and law enforcement to detect malicious activity in encrypted environments than unencrypted ones (albeit not impossible, as I’ll discuss), law enforcement officials and lawmakers often demonize E2EE. But E2EE is a vital protection against crime and abuse, because it helps to protect people (children included) from the harms that happen when their personal information and private conversations fall into the wrong hands: data breaches, hacking, cybercrime, snooping by hostile foreign governments, stalkers and domestic abusers, and so on.


That’s why it’s so important that national policy promote rather than dissuade the use of E2EE – and why it’s so disappointing that STOP CSAM has turned out to be just the opposite: yet another misguided effort by lawmakers in the name of online safety that would only make us all less safe.


Defence/Aggression


↺ Fighting in Sudan enters third week with air raids, heavy fire despite new truce


Warplanes on bombing raids drew heavy anti-aircraft fire over Khartoum on Saturday as fierce fighting between Sudan’s army and paramilitaries entered a third week, despite a renewed truce.


↺ Where Is The Proud Boys Verdict?


The Proud Boys jury is dividing on something. What is it?


↺ Why Marcos is inviting the US military back to the Philippines


Spurred by mounting tensions with China, the tide is turning in favour of a greater US presence in the region.


↺ STT: Espionage equipment photographed on Russian Embassy roofs in Helsinki


Helsinki is among the many European capitals in which Russia has placed suspected signal intelligence gathering devices on its embassies’ roofs.


↺ Ukraine Told Poland, EU That Grain Import Restrictions Are ‘Unacceptable’


KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine had protested to key allies the European Union and Poland over restrictions on its grain supplies on Friday, before the…


↺ Russia Pledges Harsh Response After Polish ‘Seizure’ of Embassy School in Warsaw


↺ Poland Claims Russian School by Court Order; Moscow Angered


Warsaw authorities have moved to claim a school building that served children of Russian diplomats


↺ He Lost His Legs in the War in Ukraine, but Not His Will to Run


Artem Moroz survived an attack on his unit, but he was not sure he would stand again. Then a movie about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing inspired a new goal.


↺ Life in Ukraine’s Trenches: Gearing Up for a Spring Offensive


With fighting in the eastern Donbas region settling into a bloody stalemate, a patch of the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine could prove to be the war’s next big theater.


↺ Ukraine Welcomes EU Deal on Continued Farm Exports


Ukraine has welcomed the European Union’s hard-fought deal to keep farm exports flowing into and through the bloc to world markets


↺ Wagner Chief Threatens To Pull Out Of Bakhmut As Zelenskiy Calls For Modern Air Defenses


Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has threatened to withdraw his mercenaries from the embattled Ukrainian city of Bakhmut if supply problems are not resolved, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed for modern air-defense systems following deadly Russian strikes on civilian targets.


↺ ‘We know exactly what we’d do in the event of attack’ – how German troops prepare to defend Lithuania


Since 2017, not only the Lithuanian Armed Forces but also the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battle group have been preparing to defend Lithuania in the event of a military crisis. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the presence of NATO forces on the alliance’s eastern flank has taken on a new meaning, say the troops deployed in Lithuania.


↺ Large Fire Burns at Crimea Fuel Depot After Suspected Drone Attack


A Russian-installed local official blamed the blaze on “enemy drones.” Ukraine, which typically maintains a policy of strategic ambiguity about strikes in Crimea, did not claim responsibility.


↺ Poland Seizes Russian High-School Building In Warsaw


Poland on April 29 said it had seized a high-school building near Moscow’s embassy in Warsaw meant for the children of diplomats, a move the Russian envoy called “illegal.”


↺ Most countries prefer U.S. global leadership to China’s


Global approval of U.S. leadership slumped in year two of President Biden’s tenure, according to a Gallup poll of 137 countries and territories.


↺ The stark choice facing the United States in Afghanistan: Leave entirely or finish the job


The release of the White House’s review of the chaotic 2021 troop withdrawal showed once again that the realities of Afghanistan and US partisan politics take precedence over President Biden’s desire to permanently disentangle Washington from Afghanistan.


↺ Sudan’s Conflict Ignites Fears of Civil War in Darfur


The fragile peace that quieted years of genocidal violence in Darfur is at risk again.


↺ Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Novaya Kakhova comes under ‘intense fire’


Russian occupational authorities in southern Ukraine said Saturday that Ukrainian forces were subjecting the city of Novaya Kakhovka to “intense artillery fire” that had cut off electricity. The shelling came the same day that authorities in Russian-annexed Crimea reported a drone attack on a fuel depot and as Kyiv prepares for a widely expected counteroffensive against Moscow’s forces. Read our live blog to see how all the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).


↺ Pope calls on Hungary to show charity to all after meeting with refugees


Pope Francis thanked Hungarians on Saturday for welcoming Ukrainian refugees and urged them to help anyone in need, as he begged for a culture of charity in a country where the prime minister has justified firm anti-immigration policies with fears that migration threatens Europe’s Christian culture.


↺ After Killings, Calls to Protect S. Africa’s Whistleblowers


Anti-corruption groups in South Africa have called for more protection of whistleblowers following recent killings that bore the hallmarks of professional hits


↺ More Australians evacuated from Sudan amid fighting


More Australians have been evacuated from Sudan overnight, with the federal government urging people to get out as soon as they can as fighting in the African nation continues. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said 17 additional Australians had been evacuated from the country, bringing the total number to 155.


↺ Latvian Finance Minister: frozen Russian assets should help rebuild Ukraine


The European Union (EU) must reach a common solution to direct the frozen Russian assets to the reconstruction of Ukraine, Latvia’s Minister of Finance Arvils Ašeradens (New Unity) said at the meeting of the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on Saturday.


↺ In Hungary, Pope Warns Against Indifference


Pope Francis warned against indifference on April 29 while thanking Hungary for taking in Ukrainians despite the anti-refugee policies of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.


↺ Russia Says Fire At Crimean Fuel Depot Extinguished After Drone Attack


Russia has put out a massive fire caused by a drone attack at a fuel storage depot in Sevastopol, the main port in the occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea and the home of Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet, the region’s Kremlin-installed governor said on April 29.


↺ Ukraine Protests Grain Import Ban In Dipomatic Notes To Poland, EU


The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on April 29 that it had condemned the restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports into European Union countries as “categorically unacceptable” in diplomatic notes handed to Polish and EU representatives in Ukraine.


Poland seizes Russian embassy school building in Warsaw — MeduzaPolish authorities seized a building used for the Russian embassy’s school in Warsaw. The school’s employees were required to leave the building before the evening of April 29, RIA Novosti reports.

↺ Over 400 civilians dead as rival forces continue to fight over control of Sudan


Gunfire and heavy artillery fire persisted Saturday in parts of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, residents said, despite the extension of a cease-fire between the country’s two top generals, whose battle for power has killed hundreds and sent thousands fleeing for their lives.


↺ France prison population reaches all-time record with 120% capacity


Prune Missoffe, of the France-based International Prison Observatory rights monitor, said the situation was “only getting worse, month by month”.


↺ ‘Salafist Police’ Are Targeting Westernized European Muslims


While America seems to have largely forgotten the threat of radical Islamism, jihadism, according to Dutch intelligence agency AIVD, remains the greatest security threat for Europe. That threat exists not only in the form of terrorist violence, but in the effect of online propaganda, Salafist-run schools, intimidation on social media, and ongoing efforts at polarizing European society as Salafist groups and charismatic activists urge fellow Muslims to reject Western democratic mores.


Now a report by Dutch newspaper Telegraaf has Parliament asking questions: what, some members want to know, can security agencies do to prevent that kind influence and the threats against moderate Muslims (and non-Muslims) by extremists, both in person and online?


The disturbing answer: not much.


↺ WHO warns of ‘biological risk’ after Sudan fighters seize lab, as violence mars US-brokered ceasefire


A high-ranking medical source told CNN that the lab, which contains samples of diseases and other biological material, had been taken over by RSF forces. The WHO did not appoint blame for the lab seizure but said medical technicians no longer had access to the facility.


↺ Biden Establishes ‘Interagency Task Force With Senior Government Officials’ to Stop ‘Islamophobia’


And how is the new “interagency task force with senior government officials” going to “tackle” “Islamophobia”? No doubt we will now be inundated with taxpayer-funded material about how wonderful Islam is. In the nature of things, however, there will still be human disputes, and some of them will involve Muslims. Now that “Islamophobia” has been established as targeted by the government, these disputes will all be ascribed to “Islamophobia” and offered as evidence of how urgently needed this “interagency task force” really is. The “Islamophobia” task force will therefore likely enjoy ever-increasing budgets. That’s how government agencies work: they have to justify their existence, so they keep having to find more and more of the thing they’re supposed to be stamping out.


↺ Ramadan: Cathedrals, museums and stadiums host iftar meals


↺ Interpreting for the US Army of the Deaf


Robert Ham’s new film, Interpreters Wanted, sheds light on one of the most dangerous and underappreciated positions in the wars on terror.


↺ ‘Kindergarten military parade’ takes place in Russia’s Krasnodar region — Meduza


In Yeysk, a town in Russia’s Krasnodar region, local children participated in a “kindergarten military parade.” According to Yeysk’s regional governor, Roman Bublik, the event was called “We are the great-grandchildren of the great victors.”


↺ Sevastopol fuel depot catches fire after suspected drone strike — Meduza


A fuel depot caught fire in Sevastopol on the night of April 28 – 29. The governor of the annexed city, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said that the fire was caused by a drone strike.


Transparency/Investigative Reporting


↺ ‘Washington Post’ sows Arab-Jewish discord when positive stories beckon


Why not publish the far more numerous instances of harmony between Israeli Muslims and Jews? It would be a more accurate and realistic story of life in Israel. But the paper and its editors would rather sow division because that’s what sells, and that is seemingly all they care about.


Environment


↺ Tesla’s carbon footprint is finally coming into focus, and it’s bigger than the company let on in the past


Last year, the company only disclosed how much greenhouse gas pollution it generated from its direct operations and from customers charging their EVs. Altogether that was roughly equivalent to 2.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. But that missed the big picture since supply chain pollution — considered indirect emissions — often make up a major chunk of a company’s carbon footprint.


This year, Tesla finally released data on its supply chain emissions for 2022, which is equivalent to roughly 30.7 million tons of carbon dioxide. That’s a huge change from what the company reported last year.


↺ Pandemic and Climate Crisis Usher In a New Age of Inequality


Economic summits in Washington, DC rarely provoke much interest on the streets of Khartoum or Karachi. The Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, held in the United States capital during April 10-16, were no exception.


↺ Spain, Portugal mark record temperatures for April as heatwave continues


Mainland Spain and Portugal have broken temperature records for April, officials said Friday, as both nations wilt in an unusually early heatwave that has raised the risk of wildfires.


Energy/Transportation


↺ Greenpeace Activists Scale Belgian LNG Terminal to Demand End to US Imports


Expressing solidarity with people in frontline communities where the fossil fuel industry has for decades polluted the air and water and exposed millions of people to public safety risks, nearly two dozen campaigners with Greenpeace Belgium on Saturday entered the liquefied natural gas terminal of energy infrastructure company Fluxys in Zeebrugge, to demand an end to European imports of LNG from the United States.


↺ Biomimetic Building Facades To Reduce HVAC Loads


Buildings currently consume about 50% of the world’s electricity, so finding ways to reduce the loads they place on the grid can save money and reduce carbon emissions. Scientists at the University of Toronto have developed an “optofluidic” system for tuning light coming into a building.


↺ A Once-Promising Green Energy Technology Hits a Roadblock


Tidal power turbines operating on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia were suspended after the company running them was unable to get a permit to continue testing.


Finance


↺ The seductive, science fictional power of spreadsheets


Working through this book – and its two sequels, which travel back in time to the 1980s and Marty’s first encounters with VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3 – I was struck by the similarities between spreadsheets and science fiction.


While many people use spreadsheets as an overgrown calculator, adding up long columns of numbers, the rise and rise of spreadsheets comes from their use in modeling. Using a spreadsheet, a complex process can be expressed as a series of mathematical operations: we put these inputs into the factory and we get these finished goods. Once the model is built, we can easily test out contrafactuals: what if I add a third shift? What if I bargain harder for discounts on a key component? If I give my workers a productivity-increasing raise, will the profits make up for the costs?


↺ First Republic Nears Federal Seizure as F.D.I.C. Seeks Buyers


JPMorgan, PNC and Bank of America are said to be interested in acquiring the troubled lender after it is seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.


↺ Poverty and Crisis: Sucking Humanity Dry


The World Bank says nearly 80% (560 million) of the 700 million people who were pushed into extreme poverty in 2020 due to COVID policies were from India. Globally, extreme poverty levels increased by 9.3 per cent in 2020. In 2022, it was estimated that a quarter of a billion people across the world …


↺ JPM eyes First Republic as FDIC prepares takeover


JPMorgan, and PNC Financial Services are among the large U.S. banks preparing a bid for embattled First Republic Bank, in a process the FDIC hopes to finalize over the weekend, according to sources familiar with the matter.


↺ Once-Hot Clubhouse is Now ‘Resetting’ with a 50% Employee Reduction


Once the hottest new social platform to emerge, Clubhouse is now ‘resetting’ with a 50% employee reduction, less than a year after its last round of job cuts. The once-booming social audio platform Clubhouse has laid off more than half of its remaining staff…


↺ FDIC races to find buyer for collapsing First Republic Bank: report


Federal regulators are scrambling to find a buyer for First Republic Bank as the banking company’s stocks continue to tumble, according to sources.


↺ Fitch agency cuts France’s debt rating to ‘AA-’, revises up outlook to stable


Fitch on Friday cut France’s sovereign credit rating by one notch to ‘AA-’, citing a potential political deadlock and social movements that are posing risks to President Emmanuel Macron’s reform agenda.


↺ ‘It strengthens anti-establishment forces’: Pension reform protests threaten Macron’s agenda


A global credit ratings agency downgraded French debt worthiness a notch on Saturday, citing pension reform protests as a cause. Two weeks after the contested pension reform passed, persistent social movements threaten to erase the financial gains that the French government expected.


↺ The best democracy money can buy – Rex on Albo’s secret advertising sub-committee


While we’ve been busily distracted on the big issues like cost of living, AUKUS, the Voice, access to doctors and a broken gas market, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been quietly wrapping a highly controversial topic in a Cabinet secrecy blanket. Rex Patrick looks at politicised government advertising and raises concerns about the new Government Communications Sub-Committee of Cabinet.


Most people take issue with political donations; not the small donations that allow a person to support their political party, but the large donations that are made to grant access to politicians and to influence them. Big political donations distort democracy.


↺ Payday super touted as solution to stolen funds


↺ Another close Reserve Bank cash rate decision looms


Mortgage holders will be crossing their fingers this week for another month of interest rate relief. The Reserve Bank board is due to meet on Tuesday for what’s shaping up to be another close call between another 25 basis point hike or a second month of staying on the sidelines.


↺ More Aussies eligible for housing affordability schemes


Friends and family members looking to buy their first home together will be among many more Australians set to benefit from an expansion of three government housing schemes. The first home guarantee and its regional and family home equivalents will have their criteria expanded from July 1, to help more Australians achieve home ownership.


↺ Australia’s migration system considered ‘broken’ as landmark review finds system leaves 1.8 million workers ‘permanently temporary’


Following a review by the Australian Government Thursday into Australia’s migration laws, Minister for Home Affairs Claire O’Neill declared the nation’s migration system as “broken.” This arises from Australia’s uncapped restrictions on temporary visa-holders, thereby doubling migrant numbers in the absence of a clear pathway for them to obtain permanent residency.


↺ How Finland Virtually Ended Homelessness—and We Can Too


Determined to pack more homeless people into Toronto’s overcrowded shelters, officials have come up with a solution: reduce the number of inches between beds.


AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics


↺ After Warmth From Biden, South Korea’s Yoon Faces a Different Tune at Home


President Yoon Suk Yeol’s foreign policy, aligning his country more closely with Washington and Tokyo, has polarized his country. And critics say he has won little to show for it.


↺ Car insurance and the Gender Tax. Take 5 Seconds to Tell Them You’re a Man and Pay $100 More than “Non-Binary”


My car insurance company has been offering Non-Binary drivers the ability to identify as such for about a couple of years now.


↺ As Biden Runs for Re-election, Black Voters’ Frustration Bubbles


In interviews, Black voters, organizers and elected officials pointed to what some saw as unkept promises — raising questions about the enthusiasm of Democrats’ most loyal voters.


↺ Requiem for the Newsroom


Nobody’s going to make a movie about reporters at home with their cursors.


↺ Bosnia Forms New Government Day After International Envoy Imposes Amendments


Bosnia-Herzegovina’s House of Representatives has appointed a new government in an urgent session held on April 28, a day after the high representative of the international community imposed changes to the country’s constitution and the criminal laws.


↺ Armenian FM To Visit Washington To Discuss Normalization Agreement With Azerbaijan


Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will arrive on a working visit to Washington on April 30, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ani Badalian said.


↺ Court gives Cambodian opposition leader additional charges as election nears


The charges will keep Thach Setha in jail longer, preventing him from campaigning in July election.


↺ Myanmar, neighbors including Thailand hold Track 1.5 dialogue without ASEAN members


Beyond refusing to invite the junta to its meetings, ASEAN has done little except let down the people of Myanmar.


↺ Watchdog Sends Mobile Billboard to Roberts’ Country Club, Demanding: ‘Clean Up Court’


As the latest polling showed a majority of Americans believe U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should step down from his lifetime appointment, government watchdog Accountable.US deployed several trucks to Capitol Hill Saturday to display mobile billboards plastered with Thomas’ and other right-wing justices’ images and recent headlines regarding allegations of ethics violations.


↺ CISA issues draft attestation form for government software providers


The new form was developed in collaboration with the White House and is based on practices established in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Secure Software Development Framework.


Software providers working with federal government agencies will in short order have to begin signing the letters of attestation and submitting them to the General Services Administration. In a procurement memo in January, that agency said it would start collecting the documents in mid-June.


↺ Twitter is complying with more government demands under Elon Musk


It’s been exactly six months since Elon Musk took over Twitter, promising a new era of free speech and independence from political bias. But Twitter’s self-reported data shows that, under Musk, the company has complied with hundreds more government orders for censorship or surveillance — especially in countries such as Turkey and India.


↺ The White Coat Meduza premieres first ever documentary on the life of Soviet dissident Valeriya Novodvorskaya — Meduza


“The White Coat” is the first documentary to examine the life of Soviet dissident and activist Valeriya Novodvorskaya. With the permission of Berlin film studio Narra and the independent journalist cooperative Bereg, Meduza has made the full film available on YouTube.


↺ US cybersecurity officials step up push for companies to adopt secure by design practices


“Small and medium businesses, local school districts, water utilities, local hospitals, are not going to be successful in managing cybersecurity risk alone if they ever get in the crosshairs of a ransomware gang or an APT actor,” said Eric Goldstein on Wednesday during the annual RSA Conference here that brings together government officials and industry executive. “Those who can bear the burden are held accountable for providing services that are safe and secure by design by default.”


Jack Cable, a senior technical adviser at CISA, told CyberScoop that CISA held two listening sessions recently with industry partners as well as one with the open-source community. He said the agency plans to build on secure by design principles recently outlined in a white paper the agency published. “This is the first chapter of the story here and we want to work closely with industry and governmental partners with this.”


↺ CISA and partners issue secure-by-design principles for software manufacturers


“Insecure technology products can pose risks to individual users and our national security,” said NSA Cybersecurity Director Rob Joyce in a statement. “If manufacturers consistently prioritize security during design and development, we can reduce the number of malicious cyber intrusions we see. The international coalition partnering on this report speaks to the importance of this issue.”


Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda


↺ Disinformation can be tackled through everyday habits


A conversation with Agnieszka Legucka, an analyst with the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Interviewer: Maciej Makulski


↺ Can we win the information war?


MACIEJ MAKULSKI: I would like to start by asking you to paint a general picture of where we are regarding this information war and the counter-measures used to address this problem. We decided to go back into history a little and mark Russia’s war against Ukraine as a kind of breakthrough point, although we know that all kinds of lines are a bit artificial. But it was actually interesting for me to think about how before that we were rather discussing the problem of post-truth, which was a buzzword at that time, and after February 22nd 2022 I have an impression that a whole industry fighting disinformation has developed even more; that we are in a different place because the answer to the threats is more systemic, coherent and consistent. So, what I would like to ask you first is how you would characterise the position we are in right now and what major trends are worthy of discussion?


Censorship/Free Speech


↺ As bell tolls for Hong Kong’s Liberal Studies, teachers fear for critical thinking and open discussion


As the last students stepped out of Hong Kong’s university entry test venues after sitting the Liberal Studies exam on Thursday, the moment marked the end of the subject’s short-lived yet controversial history.


↺ Indian News Agency ANI, Broadcaster NDTV Twitter Accounts Restored After Brief Suspension


↺ Russian Grandmother Given Crushing Fine For Anti-War Post


A Russian court has fined a 65-year-old grandmother from Siberia 1 million rubles ($12,400), the equivalent of about four years of pension payments, for posting on social media the eyewitness accounts of her Ukrainian friends in the days following Russia’s invasion.


↺ Russian Grandmother Given Crushing Fine For Anti-War Post


A Russian court has fined a 65-year-old grandmother from Siberia 1 million rubles ($12,400), the equivalent of about four years of pension payments, for making an anti-war post on social media in the days following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.


↺ Twitter blocks accounts of news outlets ANI and NDTV, restores later


Elon Musk-owned social media platform Twitter blocked and later restored the main handles of domestic media agencies ANI and NDTV claiming that owner of both the accounts was less than 13 years of age and therefore could now be allowed to be on the platform.


A quick search for both handles showed a notification of the accounts not existing on Twitter. It was not immediately clear as to why these accounts were suspended. As per the platform’s policies, account holders must be at least 13 years old to create and operate a handle on Twitter.


↺ Oxford ‘Cancels’ England’s Patron Saint George to Appease Islam


Oxford had for years been celebrating Saint George’s Day. Once the pandemic arrived in 2020, however, the day was (“temporarily”) suspended; and now, following that “reset,” Islam has taken its place.


This move, incidentally, is meant to appease Islam in more ways than one. Although the patron saint of England for some seven centuries, Saint George has increasingly been a cause of concern because he “offends” Muslims. For example, according to a 2013 report,


↺ Two School Employees are Charged with Blasphemy for Desecrating the Holy Quran


They had both been asked to clean a store room. During the cleaning they gathered all the rubbish (Paper etc) and later burnt them.


Since they are both illiterate therefore they didn’t know what kind of paper they were burning, and there were some Qurans page in that rubbish.


After taking a statement from the witnesses, the police have registered a case under section 295- B of blasphemy law against Musarrat Bibi and Mohammad Sarmad and taken them into custody at Police Station Sadar Arifwala Park Pandan [Punjab].


↺ Iran Arrests Activists After ‘Clubhouse’ Meeting Calls For New Political System


Momeni, a former student leader who was previously jailed, made the comments during a virtual event on the popular app Clubhouse during which dozens of rights campaigners, political prisoners, and academics called for a transition to a new, democratic political system in Iran.


Days later, on April 27, police arrested Momeni at his home in Tehran and confiscated his electronic devices.


Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press


↺ More journalists taken into custody


More houses were raided this morning in various cities, as a result of an Ankara-based investigation. Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) co-chair Dicle Müftüoğlu, Mesopotamia Agency (MA) Editor Sedat Yılmaz and his wife Selma Yılmaz were taken into custody in Amed. Many people, including Filiz Yılmaz, journalist Sedat Yılmaz’ sister, were taken into custody in Istanbul.


Civil Rights/Policing


↺ Remains of Newborn Girl Found at Massachusetts Trash Center


Investigators in Massachusetts are turning to the public to help them identify a newborn baby girl whose remains were found earlier this week at a regional recycling facility


↺ Louisiana Teacher Arrested After Explicit Video Surfaces


A former teacher at a Louisiana school has been arrested after a video surfaced that appears to show him saying sexually suggestive things to someone he says he tutors


↺ For Children’s Day, let’s give all kids lives with dignity


In Mexico and globally, adults have collectively failed to ensure a great many of kids’ basic rights, especially for the poor and vulnerable.


↺ Mexico’s Ruling Party Sweeps Mine Reform, Other Bills to Law


Mexico’s Senate has approved a wide-ranging reform of laws governing the mining industry, including a requirement that companies pay 5% of profits to local communities


↺ In Spontaneous Protest, Afghan Women Urge World Not To Recognize Taliban


A group of Afghan women on April 29 staged a spontaneous march in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in defiance of Taliban security forces to urge the international community not to recognize the militant group that returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.


↺ Afghanistan women march against possible UN recognition of Taliban government


Afghan women Saturday marched in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul to urge the UN not to formally recognize the Taliban government at a UN summit scheduled for next week. Approximately two dozen women took to the streets despite the Taliban government’s increasingly strict crackdowns on women.


↺ In Spontaneous Protest, Afghan Women Urge World Not To Recognize Taliban


A group of Afghan women on April 29 staged a spontaneous march in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in defiance of Taliban security forces to urge the international community not to recognize the militant group that returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.


↺ Will a Chatbot Write the Next ‘Succession’?


In their attempts to push back, the writers have what a lot of other white-collar workers don’t: a labor union.


Mr. Schur, who serves on the bargaining committee of the Writers Guild of America as it seeks to avert a strike before its contract expires on Monday, said the union hopes to “draw a line in the sand right now and say, ‘Writers are human beings.’”


↺ Ottawa wants to automatically file taxes for low-income Canadians — and perhaps eventually for everyone


The government says as many as 12 per cent of Canadians don’t file their taxes every year, most of whom are low-income Canadians. It’s estimated that non-filers missed out on more than $1.7 billion worth of government rebates and programs they were entitled to in the 2015 tax year alone.


To fix that, Ottawa is beefing up an existing program called File My Return that allows Canadians to file their tax returns by answering a series of simple questions over the telephone. The goal is to triple the uptake on that program to 2 million people annually.


↺ Renowned Iranian actresses charged for not wearing headscarves


Iranian state media on Tuesday stated that police in the capital charged Katayoun Riahi and Pantea Bahram with “the crime of removing their hijab in public and publishing its images in the virtual space”.


The actresses could face fines or prison terms if found guilty.


↺ Mob harasses female tourist in Islamabad’s Faisal Mosque


The Faisal Mosque incident followed another such incident in which several foreign women faced harassment at Shakarparian on Pakistan Independence Day.


↺ Harry Belafonte Never Stopped Fighting for Justice, and Neither Should We


On a freezing cold day, February 15th, 2003, Harry Belafonte, the legendary singer, actor, and activist strode onto a stage outside the United Nations in New York City. Rallies against the imminent U.S. invasion of Iraq were taking place around the globe that day, in what is believed to be the largest mass protest in human history. Belafonte then did what he had been doing for over half a century–he spoke truth to power:


↺ Why the Nakba Has Come to Define Palestinian Identity


On May 15, 2023, the Palestinian Nakba will be 75 years old.


↺ US Republicans divided over abortion rights as states balk at bans


The failure of bills curbing abortion rights in two deeply conservative US states this week underscored the growing disquiet felt by Republicans over the threat the issue poses to their political ambitions.


↺ District councils: Cut seats elected by the public for Hong Kong’s ‘self-protection,’ says pro-Beijing heavyweight


A pro-Beijing figure has urged Hong Kong to cut the ratio of seats democratically elected by the public at District Councils to 22 per cent, in order to protect future elections from “Western forces or Taiwan independence advocates.”


↺ China rehabilitation scheme makes morticians of murderers


By Matthew Walsh Once jailed for murder, Cao Yongsheng now makes a living caring for the dead, benefitting from a bold rehabilitation scheme that’s giving some of China’s most serious criminals a second life as funeral workers.


Internet Policy/Net Neutrality


↺ 2023-04-25 [Older] Thinking about our passive exposure to IPv6 issues


↺ Twitter to allow publishers to charge users on a per article basis starting May


The feature, to be rolled out in May, will enable users who do not “sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article,” billionaire owner Musk tweeted.


On Friday, Musk had said that Twitter will take a 10% cut on content subscriptions after the first year, noting that the company will not take a cut for the first 12 months. These subscriptions include long-form text and hours-long video.


Monopolies


↺ Ticketmaster Finds Itself in a Royal Mess Over Coronation Concert


Some British residents said they received misleading emails suggesting they had secured free tickets to the concert for the coronation of King Charles III at Windsor Castle.


Copyrights


↺ University Websites Are Being Flooded with Online Piracy Scams


Universities and colleges tend to have strict anti-piracy policies for students. In the United States, this is very much a necessity since its required by law. While most students play by the rules, a worrying trend is developing where outsiders exploit university websites to promote piracy scams.


Gemini* and Gopher


Personal


↺ When family falls far too short


My family – the one I was born into and grew up with – are all idiots. Zero capacity for nuance. Everything you say to them must pertain to obvious physical realities literally directly in front of them or there will be a whole lotta duh going on, generally leading to dramatic displays of judgement indistinguishable from what we call “canceling” these days. Anyone half a braincell smarter than them is a threat to be both kept at a distance, and watched very carefully.


↺ Golden Week


Golden Week started yesterday, the 29th of April. This whole week until Sunday, May 7th, most of the country is on vacation.


I sit here with my little USB fan going. It was cloudy and muggy and stuffy and a little rainy today. Monday and Tuesday I had the heat on it was so cold. Later in the week I got sunburned on a day with not a cloud in the sky.


Along with getting settled in Manjaro, this week I installed Garuda Linux. KDE Plasma in Garuda is simply stunning. The last time I was so taken aback by an OS was Mac OS X 10.1 in 2001, but MacOS now looks almost flat and boring in comparison.


↺ 🔤SpellBinding: ACHMYRP Wordo: AURAE


↺ Garden Path


Anyways there was a very green frog (Pseudacris regilla, probably) perched on a bag of bark, maybe because the area was in the shade and somewhat moist, being on the north side of the building. The other garden path here is “a grammatically correct sentence that starts in such a way that a reader’s most likely interpretation will be incorrect” insofar as this is possible in lojban. Here a line break is used to trick the reader; we start off with “a green tree” but the next line gives a bo which joins the tree tighter to pipybanfi, so it’s a (green (tree frog)) once you get to the second line, not the default ((green tree) frog) without the bo. Garden path sentences are really better done in not lojban, where you can usually play around with homonyms, verb nouns, or who knows what else to really cause the reader to stop and have to rethink the sentence.


Technical


↺ Re: The Joy of Contained Systems


I very much agree with this sentiment. I like pico-8 in a lot of ways though, actually _because_ it’s a very self-contained and quite simple system, but I’ve often thought it would have been a lot more fun if we’d just get to program in some sort of fantasy assembly. I would have loved to see an instruction set and architecture on such a machine that’s very different from what we’re used to on the likes of x86 and arm. That would have been so much fun.


↺ Patches! Not those kinds.


It’s been awhile since I used the eeepc 701. It still does OK. Running antix v19.2 x86. It hasn’t been updated in awhile, but I will probably do that when I connect to the network. I forgot that I don’t like the keyboard on this device. It’s cramped and I keep hitting the wrong keys. Also, not much light here. I’ve been spoiled by illuminated keyboards.


The speaker repurposing from my last post was a success! I ended up crimping a mix of terminal and Posi-lock connectors to some speaker wires so I wouldn’t have to solder anything. Yeah, I’m lazy and I could use the practice. Another time.


Science


↺ Innovation vs. improvements


Too much of what we do in our industries is improving on products that have long passed a threshold of dimminishing returns.


Internet/Gemini


↺ Almost here


So after a few days of trial and error I have finally arrived in GeminiSpace, if that is a word for our location. I am still in the process of figuring everything out and getting my pod put together so I can not say that I am totally here but I am really close.


“So after a few days of trial and error I have finally arrived in GeminiSpace, if that is a word for our location. I am still in the process of figuring everything out and getting my pod put together so I can not say that I am totally here but I am really close.” gemini://jimmorgan.smol.pub/almost-here


Programming


↺ Unveiling `guprecords.raku`: Global Uptime Records with Raku


For fun, I am tracking the uptime of various personal machines (servers, laptops, workstations…). I have been doing this for over ten years now, so I have a lot of statistics collected.


As a result of this, I am introducing `guprecords.raku`, a handy Raku script that helps me combine uptime statistics from multiple servers into one comprehensive report. In this blog post, I’ll explore what Guprecords is and some examples of its application. I will also add some notes on Raku.


↺ I Didn’t Want To Like VSCode


Ending up at a big tech company and spending many years in Java land, I gravitated towards modern graphical IDEs. At the time Eclipse was dominant; it was also, for the size of codebases we were using and the speed of computers at the time, incredibly slow. I logged hundreds of milliseconds to respond to a keypress.


↺ Add icon to links with CSS to identify protocol (+ bonus)


You can quickly identify the nature of a link with a few lines of CSS. According to the protocol (http, gopher, mailto…), or if the link is an inner link, a tiny icon will be displayed next to it…


↺ Finally rust-analyzer is available via Rustup (sort of)


A while back the Rust project switched from recommending the Rust Language Server (rls) to officially supporting it’s replacement, rust-analyzer for use in IDE’s and editors. There were solid technical reasons for the change, but the rollout was not without some growing pains.


One issue with using an lsp server in the context of Rust is that it is common for people to have multiple versions of the Rust toolchain on their system. Most people who use Rust in anger have at least a stable toolchain and a nightly, while some projects (such as the Linux kernel) requiring a specific stable compiler version. It’s not a problem due to the language changing that fast (although a few years ago it would have been). The issue is that in order to support procedural macros rust-analyzer must be built from the same source as the compiler in use. That means that one would need a version of the program for each toolchain, and a way to switch between them.


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