Tek is not a convicted felon

Politics ∪ tech ∪ security ∪ privacy ∪ O_o

One-time EFF Tech Trivia champion.

Sysop of Free Radical.

I blog about this at https://blog.freeradical.zone/.

Very approachable. Bring treats.

Public Key

npub13e30hnrpg768tslwwjveafaazctk7ghf9va2se2k4ygr8cj24veshclhjj

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsguchme3s50dr4c0h8fxv75773v9m0yt5jkw4gv4t2jypnuf92kvcpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qjtea0q

Publishing to

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub13e30hnrpg768tslwwjveafaazctk7ghf9va2se2k4ygr8cj24veshclhjj

Show more details

Last Notes

2024-09-02 22:12:09

Has there ever been a more distributed, lower barrier to entry discussion forum than email lists?

2024-08-28 22:22:04

The apartment across from Tek Jr's put up what looks an awful lot like a camera aimed at TJ's bedroom window, so now I have to go into Oakland and explain to someone that they’re going to take it down while I wait. Sigh. These are the things they don’t tell you about in the parenting books.

2024-08-20 02:08:53

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@npub1wfr…hrsc I’m sure that’s the case.
“We couuuld add more training so that it legit takes an hour.”
“Nah. Tell me more about this stopwatch idea you had!”

2024-08-20 01:58:47

It's time for my company’s annual harassment training, *which I wholeheartedly support*.
I am less enthusiastic about the training website. "Look, we said this is gonna take an hour, and I don't care how quickly you can click through the legal disclaimers, *it's gonna take an hour*.”
https://nfts.freeradical.zone/media_attachments/files/112/991/399/073/610/789/original/b548775cbd09fba4.png

2024-08-19 22:49:12

`cargo build` the first time with an empty sccache: 25.15 secs
`cargo build` the second time: 6.42 secs
Adding that one little caching layer makes Rust development so much more pleasant.

2024-08-18 00:14:38

Hey look at me I'm a data engineer AMA.

2024-08-11 22:02:33

Mrs Tek got caught up in TSA security theater bullshit by having a water bottle that was less than bone dry, although not by much.
Do you feel safer yet?

2024-08-08 00:35:10

We made it to Vegas in 1 piece, ate a deliciously unhealthy lunch, checked in early (pro-tip: pay the $15 extra for a room upgrade if given the option), and set up the WiFi router that lets all our devices connect to the Internet at the same time without paying an arm and a leg every day.
It’s been a buy morning. Now we rest, re-caffeinate, and then hit the strip.

2024-08-02 18:45:40

Amazon sent me an email about their new “Amazon One” service:
"Amazon One is a fast, free identity service that allows you to pay using only your palm at all Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh, and Amazon Go locations. Your Prime member discounts will be automatically applied when you checkout at Whole Foods Market."
I was raised in an evangelical Christian household, as are somewhere around 25% of Americans. I can say with authority that ... https://honeypot.net/2024/08/02/amazon-sent-me.html

2024-08-02 05:01:02

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@npub17nx…u2jx To “…verify that something is listening to this number and at least 1 entity can read it, although we have no way of knowing who.”

2024-08-02 04:12:29

The email: Click here to enhance your account's security with two-factor authentication!
Click.
The website: Please enter your phone number to receive your access code.
Cmd-W.

2024-07-28 04:05:17

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@npub1wfr…hrsc Staving off reply guys: “but isn't that violating their Terms of Service?" “Probably! I already pay them enough ridiculous fees.”

2024-07-28 03:42:28

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@npub1yjt…6kum I don’t *think* you can use that from WiFi. The hotel I'm thinking of *always* has horrible 5G reception in the rooms, almost as though deliberately so.

2024-07-28 03:41:18

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@npub1vcl…k6t3 That’s right up my alley. Have you used this one?

2024-07-28 03:37:21

Frequent travelers, what’s a good way to share Internet connections in hotel rooms that charge by the MAC? Devices:
- Macbook
- iPhones
- Nintendo Switch
If I'm gonna be stuck paying a bullshit "resort fee”, I'm going to check my email on more than one computer without paying even more and I’m gonna feel A-OK about it.

2024-07-26 20:32:31

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No more struggles.

2024-07-26 07:28:57

Harris describes suffering in Gaza, pushes Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal - Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-harris-meet-netanyahu-separately-gaza-ceasefire-2024-07-25/
> U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to help reach a Gaza ceasefire deal that would ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than President Joe Biden.
>
> "It is time for this war to end," Harris said in a televised statement after she held face-to-face talks with Netanyahu.
Yes please.

2024-07-26 02:22:38

Gigi says this day is the pits. 🥵
https://nfts.freeradical.zone/media_attachments/files/112/849/935/094/748/217/original/951da099bd3441f7.jpeg

2024-07-25 23:56:02

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@npub14f9…20wn I’m so sorry for your little guy.
She’s such a good girl. She deserves being circled by people who love her as she begins her travel.

2024-07-25 23:11:58

Keeva became ill in the last week. I took her to the vet expecting she’d need some medicine and TLC. Instead we got some very bad news.
Our sweet girl – verifiably the best pup ever – is going to sleep tomorrow. She’ll be surrounded by a heartbroken family who loves her very much and will help her rest as comfortably as possible.
Goodbye, sweetie. I’ll miss you forever.
https://nfts.freeradical.zone/media_attachments/files/112/849/185/541/542/798/original/1a2b8244e5db9b8f.jpg

2024-07-25 19:21:31

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Our sweet girl is going to sleep tomorrow morning with her family gathered around her and telling her how much she’s loved.

2024-07-25 06:04:46

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@npub1v6z…wwqm Absolutely. "You know, 80 really is too old to be president. He’d be 98.25% of 80 years old on inauguration day. He should relax and take it easy.”

2024-07-25 03:30:11

“If he's not healthy enough to run, he's not healthy enough to be President."
What a crock. "If he's not energetic to do the 2 most strenuous jobs in politics at the same time, he's not energetic enough to do 1 of them”? Why wasn't anyone saying that while Old Man Trump failed at both of them?

2024-07-25 03:21:51

I’ve modified my Python program that sends new drafts from my Freewrite Alpha to my blog. Now it can also send them to my journal app, depending on what I type at the end of the message.
I like how it’s shaping up to work with the little keyboard. I’m turning it into the hardware version of Drafts: enter some text, decide what to do with it, let automation handle the details. https://getfreewrite.com/products/alpha-white-speckled

2024-07-24 18:25:10

My sweet little pup is laying snuggled into a soft blanket next to me on the couch. She's struggling to breathe, successfully so far but with a lot of effort. She's had a few doses of antibiotics. I kind of think maybe she's improving, but it's hard to be objective and avoid wishful thinking.
We've decided to give it another day. If she's getting significantly better tomorrow, whew. If not… I can't let my good girl suffer.
And yes, I'm sobbing like a baby.

2024-07-24 16:33:01

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@npub1f9h…8hqa I still play the free web version with a pop up blocker. The second I can’t play for free, that’s that.

2024-07-24 15:21:00

#Wordle 1,131 3/6*
⬛🟨🟨⬛🟩
⬛⬛🟨🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I was surprised after a poor 2 choice.

2024-07-23 20:34:47

The vet just gave us news no one who loves their pet ever wants to hear.
I am heartbroken.

2024-07-23 20:11:46

The party claiming to be for “small government” demands that Biden run whether he wants to or not.
That would seem to be contradictory.

2024-07-23 16:06:11

#Wordle 1,130 4/6*
⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛
⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛
🟨🟩🟩⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

2024-07-22 22:17:24

Mickey Petersen's "Mastering Emacs (Emacs 29 Edition)” is on sale now for 29% off.
If you Emacs, this is the book for you. It's my go-to reference for learning how to do a thing.
https://www.masteringemacs.org/reading-guide

2024-07-22 18:17:52

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@npub107p…fkuv Thanks! The general theme of the honeypot.net domain is Winnie the Pooh characters. I’m typing this on pooh.

2024-07-22 18:15:00

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@npub1f9h…8hqa Thanks! It's been fun but I’m ready to go back to ignoring it all for a while. 😀

2024-07-22 17:24:15

The #FRZ rack is coming along. Now the Raspberry Pis are racked up and I have nicer patch cables gluing everything together. The biggest remains parts the mounting brackets for the switches. One should arrive this week. The other isn’t being manufactured just yet.
https://nfts.freeradical.zone/media_attachments/files/112/830/831/156/410/898/original/326eca7de92aa4b5.jpeg

2024-07-21 20:59:00

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@npub1v66…qlzr I am cautiously optimistic, depending on who’s chosen.

2024-07-21 19:59:42

Biden's out. Any guesses? Mark Kelly?

2024-07-21 06:51:49

I dusted off an older Raspberry Pi 4 to play with. Now I remember how glacially, painfully slow microSD cards are. This thing feels nearly unusable after being spoiled by its twin with an SSD.
If you use a Raspberry Pi for anything more than occasional goofing around, get an SSD. It makes it a new computer.

2024-07-20 17:32:04

Pediatric doctor who just started Boston fellowship arrested on child pornography charges - NBC10 Boston https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/pediatric-doctor-who-just-started-boston-fellowship-arrested-on-child-pornography-charges/3433011/
I oppose the reality of the death penalty for a thousand reasons. There are situations where I’m OK with the concept of it. I just don’t want to share a planet with this person.

2024-07-20 00:03:46

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@npub1wfr…hrsc I haven't been to a chain in quite a while.

2024-07-20 00:03:34

Martin Gore, "In A Manner of Speaking (Trendy Mix)”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86pWzJPMgPo #nowplaying #FediPlay
I always stop and soak in this one.

2024-07-19 23:18:09

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@npub1wfr…hrsc I've mentioned the local Chinese place here. I've been like 4 times ever, and the owner greets my by name when I walk past.

2024-07-19 22:27:01

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@npub13g9…fceu And while the tooling isn't perfect, by a long stretch, it’s vastly better than CF’s. Error messages that actually tell you what's wrong? Bless their heart!

2024-07-19 22:01:15

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@npub13g9…fceu
People new to AWS: "Ugh, Terraform is so frustrating!”
Veteran users: "Pull up a chair and listen.”
(It's not that I love TF, but that I know what the alternatives are.)

2024-07-19 21:20:39

I am occasionally reminded that 1) CloudFormation still exists, and 2) I can't always ignore it.

2024-07-19 20:59:25

Tek Jr walked over to the pizza place for lunch yesterday. The owner asked where his dad has been. I guess that means I need to drop in to say hi and get some pizza of my own.

2024-07-19 20:57:58

Happy little bee on happy little flowers on my walk to the happy little pizzeria.
https://nfts.freeradical.zone/media_attachments/files/112/814/684/723/966/811/original/52e061e7af523402.jpg

2024-07-19 19:35:05

Depeche Mode, "New Life" from the album "Speak and Spell (Deluxe)": https://song.link/us/i/665412548 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
Today I'm working through DM's discography, starting at the beginning.

2024-07-19 17:54:38

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(Tweaked slightly.)

2024-07-19 17:54:22

Dammit Zero Cool.
https://nfts.freeradical.zone/media_attachments/files/112/813/962/586/403/289/original/d0ac5ddeb6a7b42f.png

2024-07-19 17:31:45

Today we laugh because it was not our turn.
Someday it will be.
And when it is, we must be the first to laugh.

2024-07-19 17:30:35

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@npub13g9…fceu Seeing it a few minutes ago is what reminded me about it!
Guy was problematic in so very many ways, and yet such an absolute genius who saw America with a clarity few could manage, or even tolerate.

2024-07-19 17:27:17

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@npub1eq0…0mee “In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.”

2024-07-19 17:25:32

I recently had the privilege of introducing Tek Jr to the existence of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.

2024-07-19 01:42:36

Bad: I mis-crimped an Ethernet cable.
Good: The router sent me a message that the port dropped to 100Mbps.
Better: My second crimp brought it back up to 2.5Gbps.
The migration of everything to the patch panel has gone pretty well otherwise.

2024-07-18 19:40:42

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Crud. Now I have to go back through all of my completed reminders and verify that they're not broken.
GTD has the notion of a "trusted system”. If you can't 100% trust it, your brain will pester you to continually verify that it hasn’t lost something. Reminders cannot be my trusted system. Sigh.

2024-07-18 19:24:54

Although I’ve trusted OmniFocus for years, I’m still compelled to try out the alternatives sometimes. This time I wanted to see what the new Sequoia Reminders app with calendar integration was like. It’s so pretty!
Today I discovered that it also silently mutates some of my tasks, like removing the URLs from them so I can’t click straight from the task to the thing I need to do, or removing their repeat settings so that they become one-and-done.
Yikes, no. Back to OmniFocus, yet again.

2024-07-18 18:19:55

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@npub1ula…al33 My AI avatar never did anything to deserve that.

2024-07-18 18:05:07

We get a lot of excellent, well considered, clever bug bounty program reports. I love reading these and admiring the subtle tricks the researchers have found.
And then there are the urgent reports that someone on the Internet can spoof email. While true and regrettable, that's outside the scope of what I can fix.

2024-07-18 17:46:56

Another day, another vendor wants to give me a Nintendo Switch if I sit through their presentation.
My dad once sat through a timeshare presentation to get a free ceiling fan. I learned from his mistake.

2024-07-18 17:42:05

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(I am also woefully inconsistent about this because I sometimes forget that when I’m picking the license on something new. I always circle back to it though.)

2024-07-18 17:38:35

For my own personal software projects, I like releasing them under the GPLv3 largely because it means that people who don't want to play nice can't use them. I usually suggest something like Apache 2 for work projects where we care more about adoption than cooperation. I prefer sharing my hobby things with people who also like to share.

2024-07-18 02:42:23

I’ve written a couple extensions for PopClip that make my life a little easier. One shows you the geographical information of an IP address. The other sends selected text to TextBuddy. Maybe someone else will find them useful. https://dev.honeypot.net/kirk/popclip

2024-07-18 00:32:04

Leonard Cohen, "You Want It Darker" from the album "You Want It Darker": https://song.link/us/i/1154144442 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
Magnified, sanctified
Be thy holy name
Vilified, crucified
In the human frame
A million candles burning
For the help that never came
You want it darker

2024-07-18 00:25:06

Digital Underground, "The Humpty Dance" from the album "Sex Packets": https://song.link/us/i/1604634220 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
The Humpty Dance is your chance to do the Hump (Come on, uh)
Do the Humpty Hump (Come on and), do the Humpty Hump (Check me out, y'all)

2024-07-17 22:48:18

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Also:
> Smoothie King’s newest commercial, “Don’t Be Fooled by Fake Fast Food! Be Sucking Awesome,” includes a double entendre and insinuates profanity, both of which are completely unnecessary. Foul language (or the implication of it) is not needed in this or any commercial, but that is obviously what Smoothie King intended with their play on words.
Holy shit. I'm surprised they can connect to the Internet without catching on fire.

2024-07-17 22:41:14

I confess that I occasionally check out the "one million moms" website to see what ridiculous thing has them whipped up now. This time it's:
> Currently available to stream on Disney+, Disney’s latest series, Star Wars: The Acolyte, pushes the LGBTQ agenda and witchcraft.
>
> Recently released in June 2024, The Acolyte will use the imaginary “force” to create children from lesbians.
Thanks for the heads up! That sounds amazing!

2024-07-17 21:13:44

U.S. Navy exonerates the “Port Chicago 50” sailors wrongly punished for mutiny - CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/navy-exonerates-black-sailors-convicted-in-largest-mutiny-in-u-s-history/
About time! They deserve it.

2024-07-17 07:01:29

Currently reading: My Struggle: Book 2 by Karl Ove Knausgaard 📚
Now that I’m done with Gaiman’s “Norse Mythology”, it’s back to being enchanted by Knausgaard not quite enjoying anything at all. https://micro.blog/books/9780374711139

2024-07-17 01:48:13

Abney Park, "Airship Pirate" from the album "Lost Horizons": https://song.link/us/i/279545367 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
With a crew of drunken pilots, we're the only airship pirates!
We're full of hot air and we're starting to rise
We're the terror of the skies, but a danger to ourselves now

2024-07-17 01:41:46

G Tom Mac, "Cry Little Sister (Original Lost Boys Film Version)" from the album "Thou Shalt Not Fall": https://song.link/us/i/285039941 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
Thou shall not kill.

2024-07-17 01:12:20

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@npub1dvj…vdle Oh good lord yes. The only thing that kept them from being somehow banned is that people really were too naive to understand them.

2024-07-17 00:47:50

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@npub1v6z…wwqm Pauly caught a bullet
But it only hit his leg
Well, it should have been a better shot
And got him in the head

2024-07-17 00:42:33

Frankie Goes to Hollywood, "Relax" from the album "Welcome to the Pleasuredome": https://song.link/us/i/1365569655 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
I don't wanna hear a word about how dirty today's music is from anyone who ever bobbed their head to this. See also: Soft Cell's "Sex Dwarf", Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", or anything by Prince.

2024-07-17 00:37:00

Jax Jones, "House Work (feat. Mike Dunn & MNEK)" from the album "House Work (feat. Mike Dunn & MNEK) - Single": https://song.link/us/i/1445053381 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
Whatcha whatcha gonna do?

2024-07-17 00:34:49

Skrillex, "First of the Year (Equinox)" from the album "More Monsters and Sprites": https://song.link/us/i/444335388 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
I love Skrillex, fight me

2024-07-17 00:26:34

Butthole Surfers, "Pepper" from the album "Electriclarryland": https://song.link/us/i/724788539 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
They were all in love with dyin'
They were drinking from a fountain
That was pouring like an avalanche
Comin' down the mountain

2024-07-17 00:21:37

The Dead Milkmen, "Stuart" from the album "Beelzebubba": https://song.link/us/i/1714905022 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
You know what, Stuart,
I LIKE YOU.
You're not like the other people,
here, in the trailer park.

2024-07-16 23:44:06

Ministry, "N.W.O." from the album "Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs": https://song.link/us/i/297744451 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
This seems on the nose this week.

2024-07-16 22:35:58

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Oh, and it takes a few USD worth of ETH to claim it.
And you have to enable blind signing.
What could go wrong?

2024-07-16 21:25:03

I got one of those Fluence Labs FLT drop messages because I've been a good kid on GitHub or something.
I read their proof.sh pretty closely and don't see a way that it can leak my SSH key, etc., but did find a nasty bug. If you have a `sha3sum` command installed other than the one the script expects, the script still runs and succeeds, but you’ll end up signing an empty string and not a hashed value. See https://github.com/fluencelabs/dev-rewards/issues/144
This all feels so sketchy.

2024-07-16 17:01:12

#Wordle 1,123 3/6*
⬛⬛🟨⬛🟨
⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

2024-07-16 01:36:38

Simple Minds, "Sanctify Yourself" from the album "Once Upon a Time (Super Deluxe)": https://song.link/us/i/1443233935 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
Wow, I hadn't heard this in decades, which is odd because it was all over the radio for a while there.

2024-07-16 01:12:33

Gorillaz, "Cracker Island (feat. Thundercat)" from the album "Cracker Island (Deluxe)": https://song.link/us/i/1673502695 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
This may be the diametric opposite of that Lebanon Hanover song.

2024-07-16 01:10:08

Lebanon Hanover, "My Favorite Black Cat" from the album "Let Them Be Alien": https://song.link/us/i/1353022457 #NowPlaying #FediPlay
Siri insists that I want to hear this. OK, fine. I'm going to stare out the window at a concrete bridge and brood for a while.

2024-07-16 00:51:52

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@npub1nnh…8pzr That should be fine, but apps the do who-knows-what with that. I’d bet money there are plenty of programs with a `unix_time_to_our_time()` function so they could avoid having to otherwise update their code.

2024-07-15 22:15:34

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@npub178r…qekt Literally every single time I've worked with someone who had a different background than my own, I've learned something that made my own work better.
Every time.

2024-07-15 17:17:18

If I find the Tek Jr who keeps closing the windows, I may have to open them long enough to defenestrate the kid.
The voice of my dad wafts forward on the rivers on time and comes out my mouth: “If you’re cold, put a sweater on.”

2024-07-15 17:14:16

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@npub1k3l…xe3c That’s a big conversation. I think we just accept that yeah, we’re surely protecting some real bastards from well-deserved fuckery, but that’s nothing compared to all the good people we’re looking out for.

2024-07-15 01:34:06

Mrs Tek and I hit the gym, ran a couple miles, and threw the weights around until we could hardly pick up our water bottles.
I feel so much better for having done that.

2024-07-14 02:37:03

I have an herb and Parmesan tilapia in the oven, along with twice baked potatoes and cheese stuffed mushrooms. The squash is almost finished sautéing in dill butter.

2024-07-13 21:03:54

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@npub1car…y9zx If any such person is reading this, I’d sure appreciate their input!

2024-07-13 20:59:58

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@npub1car…y9zx Drawing a better crowd is outside my skills. Hmm. What else would make a good background?

2024-07-13 19:22:31

#FRZ gang, it’s sticker time again. I kinda suck at graphic design and this time I'm leaning toward keeping it simple. This is the direction I was thinking. Opinions?
https://nfts.freeradical.zone/media_attachments/files/112/780/335/417/860/820/original/a74e335cbb626e2f.png

2024-07-13 18:09:21

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@npub1v6z…wwqm I probably trigger those emails more than anyone. “Huh, that looks like a phishing email. Wonder what it looks like if I open it in a private browser tab? Maybe I can take a screenshot to share.... AW DAMMIT!”

2024-07-13 17:40:07

When a coworker forwards you an email to ask if it looks like phishing, take a moment to publicly praise them for it. “Jane sent me an example of a new phishing campaign going around. Her instinct to let us know about it was exactly right. Thanks, Jane!”
Reinforce the idea that Security has their back and will be pleasant to interact with. That’s how you get them to want to report things.

2024-07-13 07:09:24

Finished my Friday night hackery. Now whenever I type an article on my new little Freewrite Alpha, and end it with "-30-“, a few minutes later it shows up on my blog. That's the whole workflow: write something.
I like how this turned out.

2024-07-13 01:19:38

Sure enough.
https://nfts.freeradical.zone/media_attachments/files/112/776/077/479/616/632/original/29b79d2dcc487ab9.jpeg

2024-07-13 01:01:42

httpareacodes https://dougsillars.github.io/httpareacodes/
Someone mapped 3-digit web server error codes to phone number area codes. I grew up in Expectation Failed. Why they gotta call me out like that?
https://nfts.freeradical.zone/media_attachments/files/112/776/006/977/326/530/original/adf1cd0b5212684a.jpeg

2024-07-13 00:02:59

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@npub1f9h…8hqa It was causing measurable issues we want to avoid. There's quite a bit of low-hanging fruit to be plucked but I'm not getting into heroics.

2024-07-12 23:47:02

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Starting size: 593MB.
Current size: 449MB.
I bet we can still do better.