Recent Content

This marks my third(?) migration to a new site format! 🎉

I've recently started learning to use Emacs after leaving the Emacs manual lying around for the better part of a year. Since I've decided to try my hand at some common lisp I figured it would be a good time to start learning, and my goodness I wish I'd started this sooner.

So I've been having some fun recently trying to teach myself Rust. I'm not really a programmer by any stretch of the imagination (yet!) but was challenged to write a bot for a Matrix chatroom I frequent. Most of us have written bots already, so it was my time to try something.

Originally I had planned to use Python like I had done previously for my Mastodon bot, tsukumogami. However, I'd been hearing some interesting things about Rust and decided it would be a fun challenge to try and write something functional in the language.

My workplace uses Slack. Actually, let me rephrase that: some of my coworkers use Slack. The company for which I work has had some trouble committing properly to a communications platform, which has left us in something of a state of limbo when it comes to communicating with one another. Some people only use Slack, others only Skype, still more refuse to communicate by anything other than good old fashioned face-to-face or email.

I've been working with and enjoying technology most of my life. As such (and given the long history of vendor lock-in and associated cost/challenge with going without the support of major tech companies), I have a pretty significant footprint with certain tech companies. I've been with Google/Gmail/Android for many years. I have files stored up on Onedrive and Google Cloud. I have been working with Windows, ChromeOS, and even macOS and iOS at various stages as long as I have been working with computers. After some self-education I've come to the conclusion that these dependencies must end and have been on a path to rid myself of external influences.

Ever heard of Void Linux? Me neither until a little while ago. My friend had orginally introduced me to Void when I was looking at going back to Arch Linux a few years ago, stating that it was (in many ways) a vastly superior system. I was intrigued, but I ultimately ended up sticking with Arch as I was familiar with it and was unwilling to give up on using the AUR at that point.

I've made a few changes to this website. Well, not really a few changes, more like a complete overhaul. I was getting a bit bored of using Hugo/Markdown and decided to challenge myself to the following:

• Move to Sphinx
• Enable Ablog
• Move away from Github to Gitlab
• Get Netlify CI working with the new setup

I've Talked About it Before...

And it's finally here! After much head scratching, frustration, and eventually the building of an entirely new server, my Matrix server garappa.chat is up and running. This has been something I've talked about doing for a while as I try to get away from all bigger services in favour of hosting my own. While Mastodon and Funkwhale where considerably easier to set up, I have a feeling it will be worth it in the end.

It's Been a Little While

Every time I have a blog I am always really bad at posting to it consistently. Actually, a lot has changed in recent months so I thought I'd do a little brain dump.

Making a difference

It feels good to actually have a positive impact on something. One of my biggest gripes about working in support is that you are - as a support agent - inevitably the face of disappoinment and/or failure at some point. The job is time and attention demanding, and sometimes you simply have to tell someone that things they want are not possible.

Mixed Messages

Okay, so I'm slightly reneging on my earlier post by writing about computers again, but trust me when I say this one is as much personal as it is technical.