A whole bunch of new packages means Debian 10.7 has been released https://www.debian.org/News/2020/20201205

Why the release of Ruby 3 will be monumental | Jared White/RUBY3.dev https://www.ruby3.dev/the-art-of-code/2020/11/12/ruby-3-monumental/

C++ programming language: How it became the invisible foundation for everything, and what's next - Owen Hughes/TechRepublic https://www.techrepublic.com/article/c-programming-language-how-it-became-the-invisible-foundation-for-everything-and-whats-next/

I'm going to try the @EclipseJavaIDE for Java, C++ and Ruby. I didn't know it covered all these languages and more.

I ran out of clean sweatpants. I tried wearing regular pants. How did we ever do that? I had to rip them off my body and find the emergency sweatpants I didn't know I had. Sorry, Levi's, I just can't do it.

ES-175 chronicles - Vasily Ivanenko https://qrp-popcorn.blogspot.com/p/es175-pickup-modification.html

Fender Telecaster jazz box - Vasily Ivanenko https://qrp-popcorn.blogspot.com/2017/01/fender-telecaster-jazz-box.html

1968 Princeton Reverb repairs - Vasily Ivanenko https://qrp-popcorn.blogspot.com/2017/01/1968-princeton-reverb-repairs.html

Why Matthew Yglesias left Vox for the paid-newsletter platform Substack (hint: it's about political correctness in media) - Conor Friedersdorf/The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/substack-and-medias-groupthink-problem/617102/

I learned a new Vim thing: Open the last file you closed with :e# http://passthejoe.net/post/2020_1113_vim_tip_open_last_file_you_closed/

Why it pays to be grumpy and bad-tempered - Zaria Gorvett/BBC Future https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-it-pays-to-be-grumpy-and-bad-tempered

Study says Facebook is bad for your emotional and physical health - Minda Zetlin/Inc. https://getpocket.com/explore/item/a-2-year-study-of-more-than-5-000-people-shows-this-1-activity-destroys-your-emotional-and-physical

After a few months playing the classical (even though it has a pretty nasty crack in the back), I went back to the Fender guitar (Lead I, front half of the humbucker as a single-coil). The Ernie Ball Power Slinky strings (11 to 48) are SO nice. It's hard to say too many good things about them. I have one of the pure nickel versions to try next. https://www.ernieball.com/guitar-strings/electric-guitar-strings/slinky-nickel-wound-electric-guitar-strings/6-string#P02220

Running four sites on NearlyFreeSpeech.net should cost me .92 per month - Steven Rosenberg http://passthejoe.net/post/2020_1107_nearlyfreespeechnet_costs/

So I tried to swap the esc and caps lock keys, with the idea being easier access to esc for Vim, but it was a disaster. You can't just move keys around. It's like driving on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car.

Talkyard - is an open-source forum that is available as a service, or to run on your own system. It can also do blog comments. https://www.talkyard.io/

Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit – https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-400

Raspberry Pi 400: the desktop PC: It's a Raspberry Pi built into its own keyboard. Get it with everything but a monitor for . https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-400-the-70-desktop-pc/

I moved a WordPress blog from one shared host to another. The new host is telling me every day that hackers are making repeated attempts to log into the site to use it for nefarious purposes. WP is definitely a target. I will take steps soon to reduce the risk.

I have made it through week 9 of Computer Architecture and Organization. We're working on x86 assembly. Boolean algebra, K-maps and logic circuits at the beginning were a little rocky, but the assembly language has been more smooth.

I've been playing the classical guitar for about 15 minutes a day for the past few months, mostly from Emilio Pujol's method. Today I hauled out the electric guitar and played from William Leavitt's Vol. 2. Even 15 minutes a day is enough to show improvement over time.

Sorry, but my Twitter feed is boring. I'm not here anywhere near as much, even though I use the Twitter API via a local script to post.

The cheap pen that changed writing forever - Stephen Dowling/BBC Future https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201028-history-of-the-ballpoint-pen

WordPerfect for DOS Updated http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/wpdos/

This wasn't my first WP install without a cPanel, but it was the first time I moved an entire WP system (files + database) without any utilities like WP's export/import. It went all right. I need more practice in database admin, and I got some here.

I moved a WordPress blog from one server to another, and boy are my arms tired.

Why I'm Tcl-ish - Colin Macleod https://colin-macleod.blogspot.com/2020/10/why-im-tcl-ish.html

I had problems with the new Microsoft Edge while my Windows install was updating, but now it's doing great. I imported my Chrome settings — even a Chrome extension — and Edge is doing my daily production.

Perch, the really little CMS https://grabaperch.com

End of the office: The quiet, grinding loneliness of working from home - Simon Usborne/The Guardian https://getpocket.com/explore/item/end-of-the-office-the-quiet-grinding-loneliness-of-working-from-home

Why life has gotten more comfortable but less happy - Arthur C. Brooks/The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/10/why-life-has-gotten-more-comfortable-less-happy/616807/

Keith Jarrett confronts a future without the piano - Nate Chinen/The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/arts/music/keith-jarrett-piano.html

Twitter is temporarily changing how you retweet - Jay Peters/The Verge https://www.theverge.com/21524092/twitter-temporarily-changing-retweet-quote-tweet-election

I forgot to mention that I have returned to CS classes at LA Valley College. This semester I'm taking Computer Architecture and Organization.

Americans worry about 2020 being another 2000, but the real worry is another 1876 - Rachel Shelden and Erik B. Alexander/The Washington Post https://www.chron.com/opinion/article/Americans-worry-about-2020-being-another-2000-15660360.php

There was a kernel update in @debian Stable today. I don't know why, but I'm sure all will become clear.

Ruby 2.7 has caused me a lot of problems

I got a SinkShroom. Is it worth the money? - Steven Rosenberg http://passthejoe.net/post/2020_1008_sink_shroom/

The original IBM PC keyboard is still being made today in Kentucky, and you can get one for about https://www.pckeyboard.com/

Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) – The guitar behind the violin - Pascal Proust/Strings by Mail https://www.stringsbymail.com/articles/niccolo-paganini-1782-1840-the-guitar-behind-the-violin/

No Starch Press is putting out a great-looking book, "Racket Programming the Fun Way," by James W. Stelly. Set for December 2020 publication, an early-access version is available now. The discount code RACKETFUN will get you 35% off through Oct. 16, 2020. The price is reasonable, and I'm tempted. https://nostarch.com/racket-programming-fun-way

My tech setup for recording courses and podcasts — Emma Bostian https://compiled.blog/blog/my-tech-setup

Big @debian Stable update for the firefox-esr browser, going from 68 to 78 https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4768

How many decimals of pi do we really need? - NASA/JPL https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/2016/3/16/how-many-decimals-of-pi-do-we-really-need/

Having a Ubuntu/Debian/Fedora/what-have-you WSL in Windows is > the MacOS command line but < "real" Linux

Shopify’s Lite plan is just /month https://www.shopify.com/lite

‘It’s like Trump said: The cure has been worse than the disease’: A restaurant owner on closing his business during the coronavirus pandemic - The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/26/restaurant-owner-closing-coronavirus

SC130: the perfect CP/M & Fuzix computer kit (at !) - Obsolescence Guaranteed http://obsolescenceguaranteed.blogspot.com/2020/01/sc130-perfect-cpm-computer-kit-at-50.html

PiDP-11: Re-creating the PDP-11/70 - Obsolescence Guaranteed https://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-11

PiDP-8/I: Re-creating the PDP-8/I - Obsolescence Guaranteed https://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-8

Lost cockatiel lands on fishing boat 10 miles off Scottish coast - BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-54263087

Substack review: Here’s what to know before you get started - Clara Ainsley McLaren/The Penny Hoarder https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/make-money/substack-review/

MIT's 6.S081 looks like an awesome class. They use a Unix V6 clone and draw on the EXCELLENT Lions' Commentary on UNIX 6th Edition. This page includes links to John Lions' book, the Unix V6 source code, and the PDP11/40 Processor Handbook. https://pdos.csail.mit.edu/6.828/2020/xv6.html

Pandemic spurs journalists to go it alone via email (mostly via Substack) - Sara Fischer/Axios https://www.axios.com/pandemic-spurs-journalists-to-go-it-alone-via-email-613ca2d5-e8d5-4235-9582-48cc028e9d8b.html

Lede: Subscription-driven publishing that bakes in WordPress VIP, Pico for membership manangement, Coral for comments and Mailchimp for newsletters. The product is aimed at both startups and established media. https://joinlede.com/

I can't believe how good a web host NearlyFreeSpeech.net has been — and I end up paying about two bucks a month. When you don't need a VPN (and you probably don't, even if you think you do), it's the way to go.

Facebook leaks show Mark Zuckerberg defending his decisions to angry employees - Casey Newton/The Verge https://www.theverge.com/21444203/facebook-leaked-audio-zuckerberg-trump-pandemic-blm

Journalists are leaving the noisy internet for your email inbox (or more specifically, Substack) - Marc Tracy/The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/business/media/substack-newsletters-journalists.html

I love the design of this site: A Matter of Perspective https://spirals.blog/

The era of Visual Studio Code - Roben Kleene https://blog.robenkleene.com/2020/09/21/the-era-of-visual-studio-code/