Root Moose

Monkeying with computers since 1984, Linux user since 1994.

Free/Libre Open Source Software, data sovereignty & privacy advocate.

I've seen some things; is there such a thing as computer related PTSD?

My automotive half can be found at https://m.fxworks.io

Boosts / Shares ≠ Endorsement.

:debian: :alpinelinux: :archlinux: :freebsd:
:idle:

Public Key

npub1pxy4vwchn0s0s7wsd0y09cpq9c9qd3n9q6dfpmznajn8qls5tudqjyqkhl

NIP-05 Address

chris@root-moose-ca.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsqnz2k8vtehc8c08gxhj8juqszuzsxcejsdx5sa3f7efns0c297xspzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgqgkwaehxw309aex2mrp0yh8qunfd4skctnwv46q5a5yak

Publishing to

relay.nostr.band

relay.primal.net

Author Public Key

npub1pxy4vwchn0s0s7wsd0y09cpq9c9qd3n9q6dfpmznajn8qls5tudqjyqkhl

Show more details

Published at

2025-04-22T17:27:08Z

Kind type

0 Metadata

Event JSON

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Last Notes

2025-04-25 20:32:34

Every time I fire up an Elementary Linux host or VM I am struck by how nice the desktop environment looks. Maybe I'll switch back to it at some point.
#ElementaryOS #elementary #Linux

2025-04-22 19:43:27

Here's some nightmare fuel for you:
https://archive.is/qXrZh
#Google #Chrome #OpenAI #AI #Web #Browser #OpenWeb #enshittification

2025-04-22 17:20:28

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@nprofile…x759 I installed this a number of months ago... great tool - surprising how often I use it.

2025-04-21 17:18:27

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@nprofile…x759 Yep, NV Shield with the remote that comes with it. It works as you'd expect it to work - nothing funky by design or hardware afaict.

2025-04-21 17:15:19

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@nprofile…x759 Almost sounds like slow/bad BT signal... does it behave the same way when attempting to use the remote when right beside the dongle?
FWIW, the remote on my stb when navigating JF 'just works' and I haven't noticed anything weird wrt navigating and whatnot.

2025-04-21 17:09:39

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@nprofile…x759 Great stuff. Can you elaborate on the remote issues? Like, does it not work the same as a normal Android install of JF? Something funky with the remote itself?
I'm guessing this is a solid way to banish the google adverts up-sell from a device like this... I like my Shield as is but wish I could get rid of the constant advertising on the home screen.

2025-04-15 20:53:24

Just realized I've subconsciously configured my Gnome desktop to look and operate similarly to Pantheon desktop.
#Linux #Gnome #Pantheon #Desktop #elementaryos #elementary

2025-04-15 15:41:40

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@nprofile…djgt @nprofile…sr9k Reminds me of an old joke:
Q: what's the difference between a used car salesman and computer salesman?
A: The used car salesman knows he's lying.
If you don't know any better it is easier to appear sincere. It's up to us techies to call sales on their total bullshit at every layer, simple or complex.

2025-04-08 19:05:39

First time trying to expand a ZFS raidz2...
What am I missing? Forest + trees problem?
I thought it might be a requirement to escape the colons in the device name but I've been backwards and forwards of escaping and quoting to no effect.
For giggles tried adding a 'single' vdev and then 'zpool attach' but it doesn't work.
I was initially following @nprofile…ehlq tutorial at https://freebsdfoundation.org/blog/openzfs-raid-z-expansion-a-new-era-in-storage-flexibility/ but working on a live system with physical devices and without a net. Ha.
"Linux" things?
Debian Bookwork, Linux 6.12.12+bpo-amd64, zfs 2.3.1. Very vanilla other than the backport kernel.
#Linux #ZFS #draid2 #raidz2 #zpool
https://root.moose.ca/system/media_attachments/files/114/303/864/885/986/760/original/f8f44712facfb315.png

2025-04-07 09:54:18

Is there a way...
To migrate a Mastodon instance from one domain to another? I think Mastodon 'locks' itself to the domain as it's identity so it's not possible?
I'm wanting to switch the top level domain of one of the servers I maintain [ .io -> .ca ], that's the back story.
#Mastodon #fediverse #SocialMedia #Web #Internet

2025-04-04 19:57:03

Watching Tron (1982). The layers of primitive digital graphics and analog are amazing/ fascinating to watch. The hours and hours that must have gone into this movie...
Yeah, story and premise is still dorky but it is entertaining!
Stumbled over this video yesterday and it put me in mind to watch it. https://youtu.be/0XPY_fvim7w
I think the last time I saw it was in the 1990s. I haven't seen Tron Legacy yet. That's next and hopefully that won't be disappointing (sequels track records and all that).
#Movies #Tron #digital #analog #1980s #graphics

2025-04-02 06:13:28

At some point you are going to get tired with fawking around with the Google, Apple, Microsoft, OpenAI, etc. of the world and want to control your compute services on your own terms. Why do you have that NVIDIA / AMD gpu (or two) at your site anyway?
None of the 'entrenched' mega-corps have any services or technologies that are special enough to keep you from your goals using open source tools. Machine learning tools are useful; GenAI is BS with a rarefied use case more akin to a circus stunt and plagiarism as a service than real, repeatable results you can incorporate into a solution and/or support pipeline.
- Deep thoughts with the Root Moose
#Google #Apple #Microsoft #AI #GenAI #OpenAi #Chat #ChatGPT #Linux #RunBSD

2025-04-02 06:11:32

I 'boost' stuff I find interesting, or think needs more awareness, or is just damn funny.
I 'like' stuff to let the poster know I read it and appreciate/acknowledge/see the effort required to make the post. I may not agree with the sentiment but if it's in my locus of topics du jour I make an effort to acknowledge if relevant as an outlier.
Mastodon has no algorithms and I'm on a single user instance (i.e. just me!) so it is what it is - I guess. If you are offended by anything I post or respond to then let me know and we talk about the topic.
#mastodon #Fediverse #Netiquette #algorithm

2025-03-29 11:30:10

Do we know what kernel version Debian Trixie will get pinned? 6.12 or 6.14? Assuming 6.12?
#Debian #Testing #Trixie #Linux #Kernel

2025-03-29 11:30:10

Do we know what kernel version Debian Trixie will get pinned? 6.12 or 6.14? Assuming 6.12?
#Debian #Testing #Trixie #Linux #Kernel

2025-03-26 17:32:38

This whole #FediverseChick thing smells like penetration testing to me.
#pentest #SocialMedia

2025-03-20 20:17:27

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@nprofile…t4qe Maybe I've mispoken.
I've never been able to find this in Gnome or Plasma.

2025-03-20 20:12:29

The one feature that I really miss in X-Window that Wayland doesn't implement...
Don't laugh or smirk...
"unclutter"
If the mouse stops moving it should disappear after X seconds. Otherwise the desktop has this ugly cursor just sitting there doing nothing.
With the new Wayland cursor protocols is this something that could be implemented now?
Could it already be implemented but is an oversight?
I'm not even disappointed about network transparency.
#Linux #Wayland #X11 #Gnome #KDE #Plasma #XFCE #BSD

2025-03-03 21:11:52

Upgraded my Mastodon instances to v4.3.4 from v4.3.2 finally.
With containers it's relatively painless.
That said, I really would like the Mastodon admin interface have settings for post lengths and number of poll items.
It's a bit of a pain to vet and correct whether ./app/javascript/mastodon/features/compose/containers/compose_form_container.js, ./app/validators/status_length_validator.rb, and ./app/validators/poll* need to be changed/updated/migrated for every new minor release. Not a big deal, truly, but it is something to fat finger and something else to track in your environment.
Mastodon is fabulous and complex but a little addition like this would go a long way to ease admin burdens.
cc: @nprofile…g8jv
#Mastodon #docker #podman #upgrade #SocialMedia #web #HomeLab #SelfHost #SOHO

2025-02-26 22:39:48

Mozilla Firefox is officially dead.
My back is officially turned.
What options remain?
For now I'm probably going to be using Gnome Web (i.e. Epiphany) for most straightforward web browsing. It works more than well enough for the stuff I do. Mobile version for Android? Does it exist? iOS?
I'll use Vivaldi for lame "modern" sites that a "simple" browser like Epiphany can't render properly. Mobile?
We'll see how far that goes. This may be less and less of an issue. The big player sites like Google, Meta, etc. are not somewhere I tend to visit.
Banking sites are a mixed bag of necessity.
I'm about to let my Amazon Prime account lapse on its yearly renewal since I won't use them any more.
At least Vivaldi seems to be a decent organization. Technology is based on Chromium though - and this is why I haven't started using it.
I will need to investigate Vivaldi's built-in adblocking since manifest v2 isn't a thing under Chromium any more.
I used to care about keeping the Mozilla rendering engine alive and relevant but now not so much.
The Firefox forks I've tried have been a mixed bag of whether their new versions follow re-enabling the privacy invasive things that Mozilla upstream does when it sends out a new version.
Time to leave them behind as well I guess.
A lot will depend on how much I miss ublock origin.
If there is a mass exodus from all the Firefox based forks then ublock may cease to exist.
There's a rant in there about pi-holing all browsers but I don't have it in me ATM.
(Posted with Epipany)
https://infosec.exchange/@mttaggart/114071999359445580
#Mozilla #Firefox #Gnome #Web #Epiphany #Vivaldi #internet #SocialMedia #ublock #ublockorigin #browser #Google #Meta #Facebook #Instagram #Amazon #Chrome #Chromium #Privacy #Rights #DRM #DataSovereignty #Sovereignty #Fork #Floorp #LibreWolf #WaterFox #ZenBrowser #AdBlock

2025-02-24 02:40:32

Upgrading my old 13" MacBook Pro (Early 2013, A1425) to Debian Trixie. It's a great little machine - fabulous display.
Been using this machine for a several years running a different Linux variant. I was expecting this to be a quick wipe and install exercise but I forgot about the pita Broadcom B43 wifi shenanigans required with this laptop.
Oh well. At least I can futz with it while sitting in front of the TV I guess. James May's new 'Great Explorers' series is interesting.
Btw, Broadcom, it's a cheesy wifi driver! None of this dreck needs to be proprietary. It's not that special!
#Debian #Trixie #Linux #Apple #MacBook #Broadcom #proprietary

2025-02-21 05:49:10

What are all the kool kids using for infrastructure automation these days? Ansible, puppet, terraform, something else?
Only really interested in foss/floss solutions. The less 'corporate' the better.
#iac #ansible #puppet #chef #foss #floss #infrastructure #homelab #soho #cloud

2025-02-17 20:20:31

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@nprofile…x759 I lost a 100ft CAT3 cable overboard once. Does that count?

2025-02-17 15:25:28

More supply chain thoughts.
Let's Encrypt is based in the United States.
#letsencrypt #supplychain #linux #freebsd #web #certificate #ssl #tls

2025-02-12 03:40:07

The Braille Institute has released updated and new versions of the Atkinson Hyperlegible fonts.
Monospace!
https://www.brailleinstitute.org/freefont/
#font #design #web #soho #text

2025-01-22 21:19:45

I also spent some time messing around with the Chameleon skin on Mediawiki. First time I had a serious look at it.
This skin uses Bootstrap 4 and if I'm following how it works, it basically allows you to skin/theme/layout a Mediawiki site any way you like.
You know how pretty much all Mediawiki sites look the same regardless of what skin is active? This allows you to change that.
It's a bit of a pain to install the Bootstrap extension and the skin itself in the official docker container. I don't know why this is not made a default or accessible via a tag. It should be - from what I've seen this should be considered a leading feature for MW.
Just scratching the surface but looking forward to doing something to modernize the look of my internal wiki. The Medik skin is cool and all but it sill looks like MW ultimately, even with colour and font rotations and such.
Poking around, my MW instance is 12 years old and has ~1100 pages. Nutty.
#Mediawiki #CMS #web #soho #homelab #socialmedia #bootstrap #docker

2025-01-22 21:09:29

I spent another evening looking at a web CMS. This time it was Grav.
Very nice. The admin interface is modern and polished. It works nicely.
What I like about this CMS is that it generates static pages and it does not use a database in the back end. I noticed a few plugins require a database and they invoke a standalone sqlite database for that purpose. Noice!
There's a plethora of canned themes and plugins to chose from. For a blog site there is more than enough to work with. Professional sites should find a lot of what they need as well. There is canned auth and commerce plugins available as well as professional services.
cc: @nprofile…z30c
#Grav #web #cms #socialmedia #soho #homelab #sqlite

2025-01-19 17:53:52

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@nprofile…x759 Try makemkv - it is updated regularly to circumvent annoying DRM schemes. Once you have the massive, raw mkv file then you can transcode using Handbrake or whatever if so inclined.

2025-01-19 17:41:37

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@nprofile…x759 Are you using makemkv?

2025-01-17 17:59:10

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In fairness, asking #AI to write a couple of simplish shell scripts worked fine.
Detailed analysis of a technical platform when spoon feeding a lot of data in the prompt? Not so much. Regurgitation.
I probably won't bother with it much going forward. The value isn't there for my use case.

2025-01-17 17:56:30

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The uptake on #AI is likely mostly due to C-suite folks living and dying by word salads in order to make themselves sound knowledgeable enough to get by dissection.

2025-01-17 17:54:27

Spent a little time monkeying with some #AI models for some technical stuff.
AI is really just a word generator. If you are at all knowledgeable in the topic being queried you will spot issues with the results of the prompt. Makes it effectively useless as an SME (time waster) and potentially dangerous for a lay person of the topic.

2025-01-16 17:33:24

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So @nprofile…sr9k , this BSD thing is just a 'front' for your real business? LOL

2024-12-26 14:38:41

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@nprofile…yqv9 I'm a terrible data hoarder of the first order. Large ZFS arrays to store "everything" I've ever written, touched, or captured.
The oldest stuff I have is ... old basic programs from messing around with a Commodore 64 in 1985. lol Why would I keep that? No idea! But it's there.

2024-12-18 16:28:29

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@nprofile…yqv9 I lol'ed. Ha!
Must watch that movie tonight...

2024-12-09 15:38:16

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@nprofile…0tvd I can't believe I've never heard of this web server before! Amazing. Thanks for bubbling it up. Sadly, looks like it is a dead project.

2024-12-05 16:24:36

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@nprofile…yqv9 "Spidey-sense" says the Chrysler family is behind this somehow.
Nuttin' to back that up - future will reveal the truth.

2024-12-04 18:58:12

Just updated my #Mastodon instance to have larger posts/toots and more poll options.
Pretty straightforward. I used this as a guide:
https://fouquet.me/2024/10/10/mastodon-4-3-char-limit
In the docker container for the web service I mapped the offending files outside of the container for ease of management. Plus mastodon user bash config things 'cuz that's how I roll.
Now to update my other instance [ m.fxworks.io ]
#socialmedia #fediverse #web #homelab #soho
https://root.moose.ca/system/media_attachments/files/113/596/068/926/375/437/original/cb416cf471eb1dd4.png

2024-12-04 14:16:03

Finally got around to upgrading my #Mastodon instances [ root.moose.ca & m.fxworks.io ] from 4.2.12 to 4.3.2.
The requirement to add some new environment variables related to #postgresql db encryption kept making me put it off.
Anyway, for anyone in the same boat, I found this link helpful:
https://raynix.info/archives/4769
Don't forget to migrate the db! D'Oh!
https://docs.joinmastodon.org/admin/troubleshooting/#after-an-upgrade-to-a-newer-version-some-requests-fail-and-the-logs-show-error-messages-about-missing-columns-or-tables-why
#web #homelab #socialmedia #fediverse

2024-11-30 23:21:44

Friends,
Is there a guide for creating websites that are friendly to assisted device users?
#web #html #socialmedia #fediverse

2024-11-30 13:38:34

This image is making the rounds today.
Why does it make me think about switching to #FreeBSD ( #RunBSD )?
I need to get serious about running some 14.2 #Podman and power management experiments.
https://root.moose.ca/system/media_attachments/files/113/572/166/822/788/997/original/74630463ef035d9a.jpeg

2024-11-29 05:41:40

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@nprofile…gp6r It took a long time for JF to be usable for me. It never got past scanning my media. But playback start was always ok. It started scanning libraries in a timely manner about 3-4 point releases ago (no HW changes). JF experience is great now.
What type of storage are you using for your library? What processor? Are you using GPU transcoding?

2024-11-22 13:45:37

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@nprofile…yqv9 I'm going to speculate some kind of ESL data pollution type thing by a script kiddie trying to make SEO spam pennies.

2024-11-22 11:57:44

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@nprofile…yqv9 I can't imagine having to deal with this type of BS.

2024-11-22 05:12:39

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@nprofile…yqv9 Tenacious!

2024-11-20 21:59:52

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@nprofile…al3s I think #KDE Dolphin is my favourite file manager.
#Gnome Files has gotten better but is still so sloooow at times, especially directories with lots of files (local or remote). And it is missing the glorious zoom levels that Dolphin has.
I have fond memories of #XFCE Thunar as well.
I need to check out what FM will be in #CosmicDE I guess. Hope it's fast and has lots of zoom possibilities.

2024-11-13 05:02:42

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@npub17wk…uzqr @npub16hv…sz5u That's what I was thinking. The costumes appear pre-TNG but post TOS... and I don't recognize this at all... What is this from?

2024-11-12 17:27:59

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@npub198t…hasj Agree. Use a stable distro with "no" corporate entanglements ( #Debian ?) and get on with it. An argument could be made for #FreeBSD as well.
Creating a new distro at the public level is megaproject level stuff. It's a megaproject leveraging what already exists!

2024-11-07 12:01:45

Today is notorious for being the first day I've seen #spam posts from mastodon.social accounts in the conversation threads of those I follow on this personal #Mastodon instance. Five months.
Two for orange goblin bots and one for rain gutters (lol).
Insta-block to three accounts. Probably an exercise in futility but it makes me feel better.
#socialmedia

2024-11-07 00:58:11

Now do #Meta and #Twitter
#social #facebook #instagram #socialmedia
https://montrealgazette.com/news/national/ottawa-orders-tiktoks-canadian-arm-to-be-dissolved

2024-11-02 05:40:04

Friends, what #email client are you running on #Linux these days?
I've been running #Thunderbird since... the beginning?
The last few weeks I've tried a few other clients. #Evolution is decent but the GUI is stuck in the past, rough edges, clunky.
#Geary is ok. More modern but a little simplistic and I can't seem to find a way to disable threading (do not like). Graphically slow as well it seems.
What graphical client are you using that you like? What is it that you like about it?
Boost?

2024-10-10 03:22:55

#Digital #computers was a mistake.

2024-08-15 20:31:32

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@npub198t…hasj Good working Linux phones and tablets are the dream at this point. I've tried a couple different things but always a dead end product or slow or something else that I forget.