Switching Back to Linux

I am switching back to Linux as my main OS - Pop! OS specifically.

Two Year Journey

I have been messing with Linux for over 2 years. I have been a Mac guy for two decades, I was Mac when Mac wasn’t cool. Back in the days when people looked at my “Hello Kitty” iBook and said “what is that?” I once went to speak at a conference, pulled out my iBook, and heard the IT guys say “We CAN’T accommodate that” - don’t you have a different computer with the presentation on it.”

“No, I don’t - sorry”

… so I did the presentation without the PowerPoint. So it goes.

Nowadays, Mac’s are ubiquitous. And I am very happy with my Apple products and my Mac’s. Great interoperability with in their ecosystem. Well-built. Easy to use. But…..

Apple’s Intrusions

I was perfectly fine with my Apple’s until I found myself in a cabin in the woods with a crappy Internet connection. We had several devices on this crappy connection and it just kept getting crappier and crappier. So I looked into speeding it up.

What I found out was that the reason the connection was so slow was because all the Apple devices on the network (laptops, iPhones, iPads) were constantly “phoning home” - checking in every few seconds for whatever reason. I mean it was constant. Multiple pings a second. Rarely did a few seconds go by without some bandwidth use - even when the computer wasn’t being actively used. Later, I learned that Apple, like most big private companies, tracks just about everything you do on your device - for your “safety” and “a”better user experience” of course. It was crazy. And it was unacceptable. I started looking for a quieter, more private alternative.

Enter Pop!OS

I found what I was looking for in a Linux distribution, Pop!OS from System76. Its a free open source operating system that has some focus on control and privacy. Most importantly, it doesn’t phone home constantly. It isn’t tracking everything you do. It’s not as smooth as Apple’s OS, but it isnt bad.

I went back and forth using both for quite some time, but I have finally settled on using Pop!OS as my main operating system. I need to use my Mac at work still - mostly to get a solid copy of Microsoft Word (not available on Linux), but other than work, all of stuff is done my my Linux machines. I am happy … enough. And I can use them in low bandwidth environments. No snooping either.

Highly recommend switching if you are so inclined.

Pinboard Account - RIP

I first got my Pinboard account over a decade ago. If you are not familiar, Pinboard is a bookmarking service. It’s a place where you can save and store bookmarks. It is a great little service - clean, minimalist, well-organized. I signed up many tears ago on a life time plan I think. The have since started charging for some services, but it still isn’t a lot.

It’s run by a one-man show. I like the service, even though the owner has disappeared for a time or gone off the rails occasionally on X occasionally

Self-Hosting

That said, I have decided to be even more independent than I already am and doing to self-host everything I am comfortable with including bookmarks. I found LinkDing a self hosted bookmarking service that has a similar look and feel to Pinboard. I am hosting it on PikaPods, which I quite like so far - but there will be more on that later.

Memory Lane

What this blog post is about is a trip down memory lane. I have started going through my old Pinboard links as I transfer them to LinkDing. I have thousands of links and many of them are a decade or so old. It is interesting to see what I saved back then and how I feel about those things now. Unsurprisingly, many of the things from back then are not important anymore. Also not surprising, many of the links are broken - well over half. One of the things I like about LinkDing is it has an option to save all your new links in the Internet Archive. Therefore, if the link goes offline later, it should always be available on the Internet Archive site. The creator of LinkDIng also encourages you to donate to the Internet Archive - something I am certainly going to look at.

It’s been a fun trip down memory lane. I have a lot of links to transfer over, and this is a long term project. But by the end, I should have on my links culled, tagged, and archived in a searchable self-hosted platform.

More on this later.

Game of Thrones

I’ve been re-watching the entire series, which originally aired from 2011-2019. I forgot about how good it is.

I remembered it being good. It liked it when I originally watched in the 2010s. But I remember thinking it peaked at the second to last season. The last season was at disappointment - at least that is what I recalled..

I started watching again earlier this summer simply because I forgot some of the storyline. But then I got hooked again. Now, I am approaching the end of the series and I realize how developed the characters are. There are many interactions in the last two seasons that I did not pick up on the first time I watched.

I have also been watching the House of Dragon series, which has got me in a Game of Thrones mindset. The stories are good. I have not read the books, but probably will. It’s unfortunate that GRR Martin hasn’t finished the stories yet, but so it goes. People are mad at him for not doing so, but you know what, it is his prerogative. There are his stories and he can do what he wants with them.

Enjoy Art…or Not. Don’t Stress About It.

I simply don’t get how people can get mad at him. He gave us these stories. They are not yours. That’s the nature of art and creativity, it’s never what you want. In the end, it’s just entertainment. You are free to do whatever you want with it. You can imagine different versions or endings or whatever. Nothing is stopping you.

That’s the beauty of art. It’s an individual experience. What brings someone to tears will bore the hell out of someone else. So be it.

Don’t be possessive of someone else’s art. Just enjoy it while it lasts. Because you never know when it will end or where it will go.

Be Self-Sufficient

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.

• Time Enough for Love, Robert A. Heinlein

I love Heinlein. I think he is truly one of the great thinkers of the 20th century. And this quote is one of my favorites. Read him. You will enjoy it. Even if you don’t agree with what he says, he will make you think. And we need that more than ever.

Like a Phoenix

This blog is rising from the dead - yet again. I have blogged and not blogged. Stop and go for many many years. I have tried many different platforms:

• Wordpress
• Joomla
• Typepad
• Posthaven
• Micro.blog

to name a few. Many of the platform names I can’t remember anymore. And this doesn’t include “social media blogging” like Facebook, instagram, Twitter, etc…

Consistently Inconsistent

There have been two things constant in my blogging journey.

One, I like to do it. I keep coming back to blogging. Don’t know why, but I do.

Two, I suck at it. I have tried long form blogging, micro blogging, interactive blogging, photo blogging, … you name I just am never sure where I am going with it. I get disenchanted and move on. I start with a catapult launch, then flame out as soon as I clear the deck. Crash and Burn, Mav… crash and burn.

And Now For Something Completely Different

So what will I do differently this time? What will change?

Well, I think me. I have been blogging for all the wrong reasons: to build an audience, to get follows, to interact with people, whatever. It’s always been for other reasons besides the real reason I want to do it. For me. Now I am pulling my own Ricky Bobby and blogging only because I want to. I am going to post whatever the f**k I want (pardon the profanity - not a big fan of it in persuasive writing). I will interact with anyone I feel like (or no one) and won’t feel pressure to do so.

This is me. And if you don’t like it, don’t read it. Period. I, me personally, want to keep a record of what I am doing when the mood strikes me. I do have things to say now and then, and I am going to say them.

A New Blogging “Platform”

Surprise, surprise. I am starting this new journey on a new platform. And it is about as simple of a platform as can be - there is no platform. You post a bunch of text or related files and it makes a blog from them. No prep other than the files; no configuring, nothing. Simply write and post. And you always have a backup because they are your files on your system.

Perfect!

Enter the Blot

The new system is called “Blot.im”. I know, terrible name, but I would rather it work for me than have a good name. It’s kind of under the radar, which I like, but it is also a one man shop apparently, which I don’t like. Risky. But so it goes. I will have a back up of whatever I post anyway and can do something different if this doesn’t work.

A New Writing Platform Too!

While I am trying out new platforms, I might as well switch up my writing platform too. Recently, I make the commitment to switch from Mac to Linux (much more on this later). And although I am happy with the switch and will not be leaving Linux anytime soon, I have to keep using my Mac at work and will be continuing to use my iPhone too. So no matter what, my ties to the Apple ecosystem remain.

It’s been tough to find a decent cross platform or Dropbox-based text editor and writing app. I was using Editorial - which is great - but it has not been updated in a while and is developed by a one man shot who has lost interest. I have watched this movie before, and it doesn’t end well for me. I also use Drafts, but there is no Dropbox integration. It’s iCloud only.

EnTer iAWriter

I am switching from Editorial and Drafts on iOS to iAWriter. Another dumb name. This post should be titled the “Dumb Name Restart,” not Blog Restart. Anyway, I am not sure why it’s named this, but there must be a reason .. there must be. Regardless, it works great so far. Works well with Dropbox. Good and easy to use Markdown shortcuts. Can easily type on my iPad and it’s not useless on my iPhone. There is no Linux app, however, and it uses iCloud as its base storage, but those are not dealbreakers. Dropbox is supported well, and through Dropbox, I can move documents from to and from my Linux or Mac systems and files.

A New Day

Here is to new beginnings. One thing I have learned in my advancing age: the sun rises every day and with it comes the change to start anew. Today is that day. A new day. Time to settle down and just be me.

Love and Be Loved.