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Joined 8 months ago
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Cake day: October 30th, 2023

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  • I used Ubuntu until PAE became required and then switched to either Puppy or DSL (tried them both, honestly don’t remember which I stuck with). Eventually got a new computer and used Fedora and Arch (btw) for years. I’ve recently switched to Debian on a machine I just don’t wanna be arsed with worrying about breaking.



  • Proficiency is absolutely key. I was troubleshooting a feature with a Jr the other day and asked him to search through the log out put (that was currently being displayed on his terminal). Unfortunately he was trying out a new emulator and didn’t know how to actually search the output.

    We went about it a different way, but at the end I just told him it didn’t matter what tools he used as long as he actually knew how to do what’s required with them and to please get that figured out for next time.



  • If you don’t have food, haven’t for several days, don’t have funds for it, and don’t have a job (because you don’t have a house because you don’t have a job) and you steal some food, I would not say you made a personal choice to commit a criminal act. External factors can absolutely remove your choice in the matter.

    Furthermore, what if you’re gay or trans or an atheist and just happen to be born in a regressive society? You’ve not made a choice to be a criminal even though your existence is criminalized.

    That’s not to say that ALL crimes are the fault of society. There will always be people doing illegal shit for the thrill of it (like the whole Kia car jacking thing) and there will always be people who act on their own selfish desires to a criminally fraudulent extreme (like Rick Scott overseeing the largest case of Medicare fraud in history).



  • All sorts of things. I’m a programmer by trade and run several docker containers concurrently for a couple of different products I work on. It’s not uncommon that I have to troubleshoot opening a file that is several gigabytes in size.

    By hobby, I make video games and some of my assets are pre-rendered simulations that get saved. I, admittedly, like pushing my machine as far as I can on resolution so some of those simulations absolutely take a toll. I also just like fucking around in Blender, minor video editing, don’t close out my browser tabs, and have been known to run multiple video games simultaneously (like playing a survival game with a friend and leaving it running when he’s gotta go. Then I just start up some other game in the meantime).

    All told, not everything I do is necessarily orthodox, but it works well for me and I take full advantage of all my hardware.


  • They can claim that all they want to, but once you actually start running stuff on the computer that’s BS. Accessing the same website in the same browser on different platforms will use the same amount of RAM. Opening the same files on different platforms will use the same amount of RAM.

    RAM is where things are put for active use, and it turns out that all files are the size of their content regardless of platform and thus take up the same amount of space in use.

    While the base OS of one vendor might have a smaller foot print than the other, that doesn’t matter once you actually start using the damn thing. If you spec your machine on the misguided marketing that “you need less RAM” your gonna have slower load times and longer waits when switching between apps as the OS needs to access the storage.

    My work laptop is a MBpro with 32gb of RAM. It is very easy to max out it’s RAM and with an unbounded swap system very easy to max out my disk space too. When that happens it’s a bad crash and lost work.

    My personal computer is a custom built desktop running Windows and Linux with 64gb of RAM. It is harder to max out it’s RAM though I have done so and it frequently uses more than 32gb of RAM.




  • They’ll just resell

    This isn’t necessarily true. A lot of encampments develop social roles, there’s often someone who can tend to wounds, someone who knows how to cook anything using a wide variety of heat sources, someone that keeps track of the individual needs of everyone else at the camp, someone who can cut hair, someone who collects stuff for distribution within the camp, etc.

    In a lot of cases physical donations will end up at the camp and either be shared when possible or redistributed to a specific person that can use it.

    There are of course unhoused people that don’t make it to camps or who have left camps, and if they resell the boots, so what? You’re still helping them.


  • Follow up thought after sleeping on it. You might want to check with some outdoor retail stores, especially those that offer used gear. Some of them trash used gear that doesn’t sell. I got 3 full Kia Souls worth of used tents that just had rips or a missing rain fly for free to distro from one such store. This particular avenue is more likely if you are working with a group that can give a tax deductable credit to the store for their donation. It doesn’t hurt to ask or write an email, just do it when they’re not too busy, be polite, and avoid coming off as too commie.


  • For insulating stuff: dry socks, waterproof boots and gloves, blankets, sleeping bags, jackets, CLEAN cardboard layered several inches thick and sealed in plastic (wrap or trash bag) for use as a make shift sleeping pad.

    For shelter: tents and tarps are always in demand. Just cutting the wind will help a lot and a tent can provide minimal insulation.

    For active heating: Sternos, candles (once the wax is melted mix in hand sanitizer for a warmer heat), those hand warmer things, propane camping stoves (DANGEROUS. They are very effective, but 100% will be used in tents or under tarps which can very easily cause a fire or ventilation issues), you can also buy some 1lbs propane tanks and fill hose to siphon gas from a larger 20lbs tank (this might be illegal where you are).

    You might want to check if any moving companies have some old blankets they are willing to donate (used to protect furniture, but if they toss them when they wear out can be useful for warmth or bedding). Also call up local theaters, zoos, aquariums, etc and ask if they would be willing to donate unclaimed lost and found clothing. This can be a good source of jackets. Also worth seeing what’s in your thrift stores, especially if you have a smaller local one instead of Goodwill.

    I recommend distroing cinder blocks along with the Sternos or candles. You can place those inside the block (so the flame hits the inside of the top) which helps contain the flame and resists getting knocked over. Another option is to hot glue some empty cans to a large flat piece of plywood. This cannot tip over even when kicked so it will provide a simple place for the heat producer to go. Just keep in mind not all unhoused people will want those safety devices as they are heavy and cumbersome, so don’t get disheartened if they are turned down, but it doesn’t hurt to have a few available and be prepared to demonstrate.

    If you do choose to provide candles, Sternos, or ovens, be sure to also provide matches or lighters.

    Oatmeal also is pretty easy to make and can serve several people. I use a stock pot and can cook about half a large container in one go, just dump it into some sealable bowls or whatever and serve it out of your trunk.


  • I have a tablet running fedora with gnome. While it works for me I cannot recommend it at all for something I’d give to someone else.

    On the surface gnome looks useable as a mobile DE, but the reality is that it requires several gnome extensions to get it in a useable state (I’m talking having a reliable way to copy and paste). Those extensions are not necessarily updated at the same cadence as gnome or fedora so my ability to consistently use the device in a predictable manner is gone if I install the latest updates when available (and after years of training users to install updates when available someone you give the tablet too will click the update pop-up).

    Regarding drivers, the only thing that doesn’t work on mine is the camera. I’d recommend trying out a few choices on a live boot and seeing just how much effort you have to make it useable.