Last Notes
Keet messenger can communicate over Bluetooth now. Seems like it's becoming the standard for privacy and security focused apps.
Burning optical disks in 2026 is nothing short of a challenge. Apart from finding good hardware, it took me 7 failed Blu-ray disks to figure out how to burn a large VeraCrypt container on a BD-R DL disk. In case someone's interested, the key is to create an ISO image first and then burn it onto the disk at 2x speed (instead of 4x or 6x).
Another excellent manga recommendation: Hatori and Furuta's Extraordinarily Ordinary Life (羽鳥と古田の非日常茶飯事). I rarely read fantasy/supernatural stories except for horror, so this one is definitely an outlier on my list of recommendations, but I've just finished the latest chapter and can barely wait for the next one. Hopefully, the series will go on for a good while.
Internet and children or internet and tech in general have never been a problem. It's a made up excuse to push authoritarian policies. I'm a big supporter of mesh networks and the concept seems interesting, but I don't like to see it being done for the wrong reason.
As a normie I can confirm.
Sadly, the first attempt ended in a complete and utter failure. All 5 disks got ruined, and I still don't know where the issue lies. I'm not giving up just yet, though. Will get some 25 GB disks to play around.
I don't write code because I have to. In fact, it was never the reason. I write code because it's one of the most enjoyable endeavors. This post expresses the same sentiment I've had for a long time. A short but excellent read. https://michellebarker.co.uk/writing/little-websites-everywhere/
“And maybe there will be a resurgence, as more people eschew the algorithms, remember the joy of coding, of craft.”
I haven't touched optical disks since I graduated from high school. Let's see if it's still a viable long-term data storage option.
https://files.aigars.digital/a4e5b6393b779777fac01d22c08ef30db28c4266fa363897bdb49abdf1bfae15.webp
Maybe I don't know where to look, but there appears to be a lack of good resources for people who want to go deeper into Nostr and do things like host their relays, Blossom servers, possibly make custom clients, and other fun things. LLMs don't have much information either.
After more than a year of uncertainty, there was an unexpected Sublime Text update today. It's great to see that my favorite code editor has not been abandoned yet.
In my experience it's the opposite—it doesn't fail if you have your stern gaze directed at it. Maybe you're looking too softly.
Computers have been around for almost a century, but we still don't have an option for reliable and easy-to-use long-term digital data storage.
I was skeptical at first, but this app is actually amazing and way better than the built-in night light feature. Worth every sat ❤
#nevent1q…fx9r
A random manga recommendation: Morino-san Just Won't Leave Me Be (森野さんだるがらむ). It has only two chapters right now, but I'm already hooked.
The 300 KB size limit for Signal stickers is very unfortunate. I was hoping to migrate my animated stickers from WhatsApp, but they all are around 400 KB.
I hope your last sentence is a joke. Free relays are key components of making Nostr relevant. If a person is required to pay for Nostr, he's not even going to consider it.
Three.js Journey is the best online course I've ever taken, and now the author has a new one about WebGPU and TSL. I know most of you are AI addicts and don't want to learn anything anymore, but for those who still have a curious mind, it would be a highly valuable purchase. https://threejs-journey.com/webgpu-tsl
I have the last year's Framework Laptop 13 (Ryzen AI 7 350). The build is solid. It definitely feels better than other non-Apple laptops I've used, and the keyboard is even better than my old MacBook. The touchpad is average. I've had a couple of weird moments with it a while back, but that might have been a software issue (I'm running Windows on it).
The only problem is the fan noise. It gets very loud even for minor tasks like installing software or even downloading an LLM, but they say the Laptop 13 Pro fixes it, so I'm waiting for the upgrade kit to be available. If the fan noise is actually resolved, I can confidently say it's the perfect laptop.
It's time to own things and be happy. I've decided to purchase all the songs I have in my Spotify playlist and enjoy them offline whenever and however I like. It is an expensive endeavor that will take time, but I believe it's the right way to go.
People need to be reminded that not every technological advancement is a net positive for the world. Despite the new possibilities they bring, not all of them are worthy of being called progress.
It's close to impossible to do these days, but I got my hands on some nice incandescent light bulbs.
https://files.aigars.digital/4a56d62068d67e01751d106a48d979ef690aaeab9187e276284b7532a848c0a2.webp
I would gladly contribute my thoughts. I discovered Nostr last year, and I'm still learning about it, including the development side.
A healthy perspective on AI on the latest episode of Cool Worlds Podcast: https://youtu.be/xavckvuszzU?t=2204.
Sadly, there appears to be a lack of monitor light bars with a red light option, so I had to get creative. It works surprisingly well. Almost as if these Quntis light bars were designed to hold custom filters because you don't need anything to secure them in place. Just slide a 9 mm wide strip in, and it stays there.
https://files.aigars.digital/715e2aee4689b3b9ea4f5ab06df30aefdc7fc494313088c6f460ca9b70bb53ae.webp
When did people start using fancy terms like “misinformation” and “disinformation” instead of simply saying “lies”? Also, why?
I might have hoarded too much tea.
https://files.aigars.digital/e17632a1564b84249810397239bfa977e9c5c7bdf8bde380d15b27eb6b9b9b84.webp
I've been using Harper for about a week now. It's definitely not as good as LanguageTool, but for a free, completely offline grammar checker that doesn't rely on AI, it's probably as good as you can get. I am a paying LanguageTool customer, but once my subscription ends, I intend to compare Harper with LT's free tier.
If you are serious about writing, Harper is not going to cut it, but for everybody else, it seems like the way to go.
Nostr has genuinely reignited my passion for tinkering with tech and software.
Perfect timing. I was about to set up my own Blossom server and as wondering which software to use.
I don't know what crazy stuff Spotify is doing on its website, but it was causing my monitor to periodically go black whenever I had it open. Disabling NVIDIA High Definition Audio helped.
Phoenix. I picked it based on reviews and recommendations, and it's been a great experience so far. I like its minimal style.
That is precisely because they're building things using AI.
A good article about AI and productivity: https://joshcollinsworth.com/blog/productivity
An update on my experience with Minimal Firewall. Overall it does work great, but there doesn't seem to be an easy way to allow connections from apps on a VeraCrypt volume. If you don't need that, Minimal Firewall is definitely the way to go, but until I find a way to resolve this issue, I'll be sticking to TinyWall.
I've been surprisingly motivated to work on my personal website lately. No AI agents, no slopcoding, no wasted money, just pure craft ❤
Why does everything related to gaming have to have RGB lights? Most gamers are regular folks who prefer sleek, minimal aesthetics. I don't want to install additional software just to get rid of the silly rainbow on my GPU.
I don't have much experience building and upgrading PCs, but there is one thing I know for sure—you can never go wrong with Noctua coolers and fans. Every time I try something else, I end up coming back to them.
I've heard some people say they couldn't get it working, but in my experience, Ventoy is the best tool for creating bootable USB drives. You create a bootable partition once and then just put multiple ISO files on the drive. No need to recreate the whole thing every time.
A good firewall app is a must regardless of what desktop OS you use. For years I've been a big fan of TinyWall, but a few days ago I decided to see what other options are out there. Everyone in the privacy and security community seems to be recommending Portmaster, but even as a tech-savvy person I find it overly complicated. I decided to give Minimal Firewall a shot, and I think it's going to be my main recommendation going forward. It provides more granular control than TinyWall and it has very handy notifications, which I missed after switching from GlassWire. I also love that it's a single binary without an additional installation process.
Fun fact: despite Japan being the origin of matcha, most chasen are made in China. After my old one became too worn down to keep using it, I've come to realize that it's quite difficult to find a good chasen that matches your needs. This one genuinely impressed me. It's made from black bamboo, which is already a rare find. It has a shin-style shape and only 64 pins, which makes it perfect for smaller bowls. And the most surprising part—it's handmade in Finland. https://file.nostrmedia.com/p/72d0078452755b913a6a2b9179647ee15cbe3e3e56840b3593ce3c535166e650/d9229cefb00c623f42114ad1cde7b78ff80f90af8ee217ded0a1c37bf83331e3.webp
The whole point of Nostr is to not be governed by anyone.
Out of all the third-party Android keyboards I've tried, FUTO Keyboard is by far the best.
It's nice to see people do fun new things with relatively boring products. I've been using the Slate 7 Pro travel router from GL.iNet for the past few days, and the experience has been great.
The compact form factor and USB charging are beneficial even for home use. Quick configuration options through a touchscreen are super handy. And the OpenWrt-based software provides many niceties that you usually don't find on mainstream routers. My favorite parts are built-in support for NextDNS and Mullvad VPN.
I'm sick and tired of games that have an extremely capable (lore-wise) main character with memory loss who doesn't add anything substantial to the story, but apart from this annoying issue, the newly released NTE is fun. I love the occasional creepy vibes. https://nte.perfectworld.com/en/
I have a sudden urge to learn Zig.
I couldn't find them talking about it on Nostr, but here's a Twitter thread from December last year. https://x.com/GrapheneOS/status/1998916448710983881
A custom ROM focused on improving Android privacy and security.
Framework once again proves that they are making the best laptops in the world. You can take any generation of their Laptop 13 that you own and upgrade it to a Pro equivalent by buying a few components instead of paying full price for the new model. This is how all laptops should be! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSxgCEpkiKM
I first learned about them a long time ago when they were first trying to break into the mobile consumer space together with Canonical and Mozilla. There hasn't been any news until recently, when the GrapheneOS folks were posting some harsh criticism about the project. It's probably not worth putting much hope in it.