Mason Loring Bliss

Unix geek. Thought leader for a small flock of back-yard hens and assorted wildlife. Technically correct.

Please interact before following.

I try to be socially and environmentally responsible.

I keep #chickens! (Chickens are friends.)

#COVID cautious and I #mask.

Born on #Wampanoag land; living on #Abenaki land.

Alphabetically: #antifa #bsg #buffy #doctorwho #freepalestine #green #noslop #sf #startrek #sustainability #woke

Pronouns: he, him, his
technologies: [#FreeBSD](https://partychickens.net/tags/FreeBSD ), [#Slackware](https://partychickens.net/tags/Slackware ), [#Debian](https://partychickens.net/tags/Debian ), [#C](https://partychickens.net/tags/C ), [#Perl](https://partychickens.net/tags/Perl ), [#Scheme](https://partychickens.net/tags/Scheme ), [#Lisp](https://partychickens.net/tags/Lisp )
Chi: cken
Roo: ster

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npub13t79gfswnjnxzhgcppk8y8awh0l2cwfqjgw45pnpd63alxedslksgkxn9w

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsg4lz5yc8fefnpt5vqsmrjr7hthl4v8ysfy826qeskag7lnvkc0mgprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntt2cj8f

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relay.momostr.pink

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npub13t79gfswnjnxzhgcppk8y8awh0l2cwfqjgw45pnpd63alxedslksgkxn9w

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Published at

2026-05-23T11:52:45Z

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Last Notes

2026-05-16 16:08:12 GMT

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Were you using ipfw? I'm migrating to pf and the simplicity and competence of the software is amazing. NAT is trivial and reliable. I'm moving away from vnet to the old way of hanging jails off of an lo, and getting rid of that whole dance removes all the complexity and timing from my plate. I'm still learning and I haven't updated my wiki docs yet, but I'm beyond impressed. I can't remember the last time using a new piece of software was such a pleasure.
Initially, years ago, I was annoyed by pf even existing. I was very fond of ipf and Darren relicensing an interim version not intended for release was not the catastrophic event people made it out to be. But if I ignore pf's origin story, there's nothing not to love about it.

2026-04-17 14:03:19 GMT

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The lesson of Mamdani is that we need RCV. That is why he was elected. He would not have been elected in the vote-out-of-fear system we have in most of the country.

2026-04-16 16:57:44 GMT

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Alright, we've gotten to that point. It sounds like you're saying "I didn't like the genocide, but I was willing to accept it to avoid a bunch of other harms."
Is genocide really just the cost of doing business? Man, not for me. We have to draw a line somewhere. Exterminating people in gas chambers and its modern equivalents seems like a pretty good place to draw that line.

2026-04-06 00:58:43 GMT

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viper-mode? evil?

2026-03-29 17:35:40 GMT

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vi in OpenBSD *is* nvi, I thought. It's hard to imagine them digging up Joy's code and including it for fun.
But of course if they've done something interesting there, I'd love to know about it.

2026-03-23 18:08:28 GMT

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Where are the markets getting food when so much farmland has been maliciously destroyed? I've seen videos of concrete being poured into wells. I'm glad there are souces of food, but it can't be enough.
As many are, I'm very distressed by all of this. I'm hoping the Sumud Flotilla can raise awareness. I'm not sure if they'll actually get food in - I hope they do.
It seems like sources of news have dried up. Even Al Jazeera has stopped covering Gaza, but I can't imagine the blockage on fishing has lifted, and all I hear from the big organizations is that they're being locked out, with tons of food rotting at the borders. Such horrible malice...
If we can help individuals that's unambiguously good. I'm just writhing with frustration that there isn't more being done, and moreso WHY there isn't more being done.

2026-03-23 16:05:16 GMT

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How are they getting food? Where are they buying it? As heartbreaking as it is for them individually, I've always felt like it helps more people if I support the UNRWA, the World Food Programme, and similar - people working to get resources in for everyone.
I'm thinking about the people who can't get Internet access and who don't have access to the modern banking infrastructure. I want to help everyone, not just a few. So yes, we need to give, and to support more than just a few organizations, but we need to help at scale.
This feels like giving a food bank a can of food as opposed to giving them money they can use for efficient bulk purchases.
It's also important to address medical needs, so that's Doctor's Without Borders and the Middle-East Children's Alliance and similar.
It shames me that my country is co-owner of the genocide.

2026-03-23 00:03:21 GMT

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Was he arrested for that? If not, why not?

2026-03-22 23:59:51 GMT

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Do you have a way to control the level of magnification?

2026-03-22 22:13:41 GMT

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Oh, nice. Thank you very much for the link. My wife teaches so I'll share it with her.
I'm glad it's working out well for you. :)
EDIT: A question... Are the controls physical, or are these functions that require software that might be less accessible on a Linux system? I haven't watched the video yet but I'm snagging that now.

2026-03-22 21:51:48 GMT

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This might seem picky, but I've been boycotting Amazon for a decade now - could I trouble you for a brand and model number? This might be something the kids can use for school, especially if it works with VLC.
Thank you in advance!

2026-03-22 21:24:16 GMT

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Does it work with free software - a BSD or Linux? If so, what do you use? Can VLC feed it?

2026-03-06 06:47:19 GMT

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Are those boosts? They'll reflect when people boosted them.

2026-03-01 01:54:59 GMT

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That's a significant win. Thank you.

2026-02-14 18:32:27 GMT

I've listened to Dr. Michael Osterholm talking about ethics like this a number of times, via his podcast.
Our government isn't concerned with ethics.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/02/who-slams-us-funded-newborn-vaccine-trial-as-unethical/
#ethics #vaccines #publichealth

2026-02-10 14:40:50 GMT

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It's deeply focused, engaged in some form of interpretive dance.

2026-01-31 23:21:20 GMT

I just heard that a bill to criminalize Plan B is going to the Indiana governor for a signature. Anyone know anything about this?
#abortion #indiana #planb

2026-01-31 18:31:20 GMT

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Some of these are in my sometimes-benighted region.

2026-01-08 03:06:35 GMT

There are folks who'll tell you not to isolate, that masks are a good idea but optional and you should balance the social stigma against the protection.
There are other folks who will cite reputable sources showing that we're losing over 100,000 per year to COVID, and that it's hitting those over 65 really hard.
I'm one of those other folks, and here's the promised reputable source:
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-continues-exact-heavy-toll-older-us-adults-study-suggests
#covid #covid19

2026-01-05 20:55:53 GMT

Just saw this. Fascism in action. Jessica Plichta, with Grand Rapids Opponents of War, arraested while being interviewed.
A couple articles discussing this:
https://thedailybs.com/2026/01/05/police-photo-bombed-maduro-supporting-activists-news-hit-by-arresting-her-as-cameras-rolled/
https://www.alternet.org/police-arrest-protester-venezuela/
#fascism #freespeech
https://partychickens.net/system/media_attachments/files/115/844/469/235/373/478/original/694fa1338e45b596.mp4

2026-01-02 21:11:00 GMT

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Good video. I learned more about Linux running Slackware than I would have guessed going into it. My only quibble is that it's painful and non-obvious building a minimal system, and once you've built it, maintaining it is equally non-obvious.
Maybe I've missed this, and if you have an answer, please tell me, but there's no connection between tagfiles and slackpkg. If you don't want "slackpkg install-new" to undo your carefully crafted tagfiles, the only thing I've come up with us converting them a blacklist file.
Having a full install isn't a problem for a single server, say, but if you want lightweight system containers, fourteen gigs a pop starts to add up.
Ideas welcome. I'm sure I'm far, far from the only person to muse about this in Slackware's long history. I've considered patching in support for tagfiles into slackpkg, but I'm curious what other folks think and/or do.

2025-12-31 18:40:33 GMT

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This is why I only ever use GPT labels for everything.
FreeBSD: /dev/gpt/foo
Lignux: /dev/disk/by-partlabel/foo

2025-12-30 17:14:39 GMT

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The wind is still going strong. It's power is daunting. The house creaks with it and I am made keenly aware of all the tall trees surrounding us.

2025-12-29 19:10:10 GMT

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Did you install with 'yum --installroot' from a rescue session? If some other way, I'm curious what it was.
As you note, Red Hat doesn't support this, but if you ever find yourself stuck, make a noise. :P

2025-12-08 05:52:21 GMT

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If you want more excitement, read about his handling of whistleblowers.
We could have had Nader. Sigh.

2025-12-08 03:38:20 GMT

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You should really have included some references to back up that outrageous statement about how many bombs Obama dropped.
Since you didn't, I'll do it:
https://medium.com/@arif94ismaizam/obamas-war-the-president-who-dropped-the-most-bombs-9452414d1089
From that, we learn that he started off with a bang:
"Barack Obama was sworn in as president on January 20, 2009. And by the end of his presidency in 2016, Obama would become the president that dropped the most bombs on the Middle East than any other president past and present."
"His first bomb dropped on the Middle East just three days after his inauguration. Swinging the same neoconservative hammer on countries deemed to be a ‘threat to democracy,’ Obama doubled down on Bush’s foreign policy and began his airstrike campaign."
I'd have thought that bombing someone would have disqualified him from receiving that year's peace prize, but what do I know?
This is notable too:
https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/06/24/obama-26000-bombs-2017/

2025-11-30 20:07:09 GMT

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Do most people have toasters that draw current when off? Mine is old and mechanical.

2025-11-08 00:14:14 GMT

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Maybe be careful about your dog nosing around where the racoon was resting, as whatever the racoon had - and it seems like it had something - could well be saturating that bit of ground. I'd probably want to hit it with some kind of disinfectant.

2025-11-04 00:42:27 GMT

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I just read the thread. I've encountered a lot of that. People believe that Gandhi couldn't have freed India without other people being violent.
Advocating for the devil a bit, I don't think the No Kings protests have had a significant effect. I think we need to appeal to people's better nature and get them to force their reps to change course. And we need to find more ways to resist. But this doesn't mean employing violence.
How do we teach empathy?
Anyway, I wouldn't be concerned about that block. The fellow is mostly serial-reposting things, and the original stuff he writes seems pretty negative.

2025-11-03 16:48:56 GMT

I was reminded of this classic this morning. My numbers have been good for a few years now. It's possible to get diabeetus under control.
#diabetes #diabeetus
https://partychickens.net/system/media_attachments/files/115/486/773/475/945/185/original/2419a7f1e0786a35.mp4

2025-11-02 03:53:20 GMT

"Amazon strategised about keeping the public in the dark over the true extent of its datacentres’ water use, a leaked internal document reveals."
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/25/amazon-datacentres-water-use-disclosure
#amazon #llm #climate #polycrisis

2025-10-30 03:16:16 GMT

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He needs to rewatch Wargames.

2025-10-13 17:28:10 GMT

@npub153c…2tew I just went to a doctor's office today, and I got the usual question, "Why are you wearing a mask?" I reply, I asked, "Knowing the cognitive and cardiovascular impact of COVID, why aren't you wearing a mask?"
I got a couple answers from the same person, including "we were trained how not to get sick" which I assume means how to not breathe, and "it's just another flu" which is always baffling coming from a doctor.
#covid #maskup

2025-10-11 16:16:11 GMT

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The CalyxOS folks don't want you to know why they're recommending that you uninstall #CalyxOS from your phone.

2025-10-09 05:20:36 GMT

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It's lovely, but I couldn't ignore all the coughing from the audience, and I can't imagine the audience was masked. I searched and didn't see the choir publishing a mask policy for audiences. Makes me a bit sad thinking of the damage these kids are suffering from repeated COVID infections.

2025-10-04 23:28:03 GMT

"A group of scientists and other experts who formerly worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently launched Climate.us, where they eventually hope to replicate much of the public-oriented climate content from Climate.gov."
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/climate-scientists-protest-trump-censorship-government-websites/
#climate #science #globalwarming

2025-09-28 01:18:22 GMT

We watched "Cat's Paw" tonight and the kids noticed the theme music changing. Less orchestral, now with vocals. (It's also the episode that introduces Chekov.)
Reading about the changes, I encountered this:
"Without Courage's knowledge, Roddenberry wrote amateurish lyrics to the theme – not in the expectation that they would ever be sung, or indeed ever be made publicly available, but so that he could be officially registered as the lyricist of the theme and hence claim half the performance royalties. Although there was never any litigation, Courage stated that he considered the conduct unethical."
That's really pretty disreputable.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_from_Star_Trek
#startrek #ethics

2025-09-26 13:52:05 GMT

If Edith Keeler had lived, we wouldn't be in this predicament.
#startrek

2025-09-17 02:10:12 GMT

NetBSD really is everywhere:
"Its extensive use in spacecraft, including the AeroCube series, BRICSat-P, ITSAT, and NASA's SAMPEX satellite, highlights the OS's exceptional capabilities in meeting the rigorous demands of space missions."
https://machaddr.substack.com/p/why-some-satellites-use-netbsd
(Apologies for linking SubStack again. Public service announcement - please don't use SubStack! They monetize actual Nazis.)
#netbsd #bsd

2025-09-08 14:39:38 GMT

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If they don't want to get the organs from their own people, they could always ask Israel for a Palestinian organs, although the starvation might make them less desirable lately.
https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/5982/Int%E2%80%99l-committee-must-investigate-Israel%E2%80%99s-holding-of-dead-bodies-in-Gaza%E2%80%8B
#genocide #polycrisis

2025-09-01 20:57:12 GMT

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No one has a kid so that their last perception will be from that of a severed head. No one who is beheaded learns to regret whatever they did. Imprisonment at least holds out the hope of rehabilitation, not that the prisons we've got today are even minimally acceptable.
If we're not going to eat them, then we at least need to humanely lock them away and try to teach them empathy.

2025-08-25 16:50:01 GMT

We have to attack the environmental apocalypse and polycrisis on so many fronts... But here's a good move:
"New EU rules for durable, energy-efficient and repairable smartphones and tablets start applying"
https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/news/new-eu-rules-durable-energy-efficient-and-repairable-smartphones-and-tablets-start-applying-2025-06-20_en
#polycrisis #climate

2025-08-24 01:58:21 GMT

Google's deceptive greenwashing exposed.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/22/googles_gemini_water/
#globalwarming #climate #polycrisis

2025-08-19 03:04:03 GMT

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He's going to try it. And he's going to fail.

2025-08-18 18:34:11 GMT

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I like the notion of "climate hawks". Thanks for sharing this.

2025-07-31 12:35:25 GMT

I wonder how many more children have to die before the world starts taking measures that will force Israel to stop.
"Former EU ambassadors warn: Europe’s silence on Gaza is complicity - In an open letter, 58 former EU envoys urge the bloc to end arms exports, sanction Israel, and act to stop what they call atrocity crimes."
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/7/31/former-eu-ambassadors-warn-europes-silence-on-gaza-is-complicity
#Gaza #genocide #eu

2025-07-25 13:16:19 GMT

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By that logic, the people of the US like concentration camps. You interviewed their equivalent of a MAGAt and she wanted you to believe that they're all MAGAts.
Meanwhile, over the last week I've seen videos of Israeli kids burning their draft papers (and being jailed for it) and I've read a letter from a couple thousand Israeli academics condemning what they recognize as a genocide. Oh, and don't forget Neturei Karta members being beaten in the streets as they protest the genocide. Last year I was following an Israeli fellow whose group was defending trucks carrying food from Zionist settlers at the Gaza border.
There are people there who care about what's happening just as much as we do and who are working against the genocide more directly than we can. I'm not much concerned about percentages there for the same reason I'd argue that we're not all MAGAts here.

2025-07-24 15:25:14 GMT

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Easy answer: boycott Google. Don't use their search engine. Don't use their tools. Don't use their platforms. Use CalyxOS or one of the other de-Googled phone OSes. Encourage others to do the same.

2025-07-20 01:47:02 GMT

Repost from Hani Almadhoun, Senior Director of Philanthropy at UNRWA, on LinkedIn:
My dad shared this story with me today, and I haven’t been able to shake it.
A woman in one of the makeshift camps was seen running from tent to tent, frantic and out of breath. Her husband had slipped into a diabetic coma. She knew what he needed — just something sweet — a spoonful of sugar, a bite of halva, anything. But the war has emptied even the smallest comforts from Gaza’s cupboards.
No one had sugar. No halva. No dates. Nothing.
Even if someone did have sugar, it now costs nearly five dollars a spoonful — a price no one in that camp could afford. Not for a dying man. Not even for a child.
She returned to her tent empty-handed.
Her husband — a man in his late fifties — was gone.
Just like that.
Not from a missile or a bullet. But from something entirely treatable — if only they hadn’t starved Gaza of everything.
Who is responsible for this death?
Israel is.
And here's the grim reality behind the slushies we handed out to children three days ago: they were sweetened with cough syrup. Because that’s the only sugar we could find. A kilo of sugar now costs $100. People are draining the syrup from canned pineapples just to sweeten their tea.
This is what it means to be under blockade and siege — where even sugar is out of reach, and dying from a diabetic coma becomes part of daily life.
#gaza #warcrimes
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hanifundraiser_my-dad-shared-this-story-with-me-today-activity-7350628795113971712-Mkf6

2025-07-07 14:09:03 GMT

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I've heard both those things, but those safety officials aren't NWS staff. The situation is abominable, but everything I'm finding suggests that NWS did its job here. They won't be able to do their job effectively in the future, which is also well-documented.
It's hard to not relate this tragedy to the 2021 cold-related deaths, and I've seen people bringing up Uvalde as another recent failure of local government there.
From what I see, I fear FEMA cuts are going to ultimately be more dangerous for Texas.

2025-07-06 16:04:41 GMT

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This notes that the emergency alerts went out three hours in advance. The NWS cuts put us at risk, but they don't seem to be at the heart of what happened in Texas. If there's more detailed data I'd like to learn more.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/doge-nws-cuts-texas-flood-b2783357.html

2025-07-06 16:04:08 GMT

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2025-05-22 06:16:04 GMT

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1984 talks about that - control of history is control of reality. And it also had the violent suppression.