For a long time, I believed that a blog is something I should be updating frequently. Not because I have something new to say, but because it would be nearly pointless to have a blog where I never update. As you can tell, I was never successful at this, but it is how I felt.
However, I do have some stuff to say now. Mostly just little updates.
GIT MIGRATION
I am in the process of transitioning from Gitlab to my own git server. I have not worked out “patches” or “issues”, however that doesn’t seem to be an imminent problem as no one is leaving them even on my Gitlab page. I am thinking about setting up an email account to receive patches, but I have not fully decided yet.
The new server is running cgit (many thanks to landchad.net for the tutorial on setting that up), and is read-only over https, and read-write via ssh (meaning anyone can download it, but only I can upload). The url is https://git.zachir.xyz for those who want to check it out.
ZIRLESS UPDATE
I have finally gotten ZIRLESS working to a basic level. I have more options I want to add to it, to flesh it out, but right now it can go from a bare single-user Artix Runit install to my configured desktop (using awesome, which I will get into later).
I am also considering expanding ZIRLESS to be a generic system post-install configurator, rather than being specific to Artix Runit, although that is still far off if it does happen.
STORYCRAFT
I have been heavily diving into writing lore for a story I’m writing. I will not go into details here, but it is a fantasy story that could become a series.
I am not going to say that this story will be finished anytime soon, but I have felt led to make this more than previous stories I’ve come up with. I really feel this one could end up being finished.
TECH UPGRADES
I have recently moved to a new(er) laptop, a Lenovo X270. This is a very interesting laptop, that (despite my inability to coreboot it) I actually really like. It has a WWAN slot that apparently can let me use a SIM card for data (and maybe even SMS), or that I can install an additional NVMe drive into. It also does not have a WiFi card whitelist, meaning I can upgrade to an RYF card without having to patch the BIOS. It also has DDR4 RAM, which means that even though there is only one slot available, it can apparently support up to 32GB.
Additionally, I have a new desktop that I actually got for free, because the IT department at work was getting rid of a bunch of stuff. It is an HP Z240, which I was excited to upgrade until I learned it uses a proprietary ATX-sized (but not ATX) power supply; although, that said, I believe I have found a way to upgrade to an ATX power supply, which should allow me to use a proper midrange/high-end graphics card. Also, it has about 6 drive bays and an NVMe slot, so storage should definitely not be an issue.
COMMS
I am leaving Matrix for XMPP. Synapse is a terribly bloated homeserver software, and the replacement I found was both incomplete and had drama around it.
I was already on XMPP, but now it is going to be the main way to contact me (along with email). I have to say that prosody is a much better experience to maintain and use.
I do not have an address to be contacted yet, but I will add something eventually (once I decide which server to go with).