Ubuntu Phased Updates

Q: Ubuntu phased updates Recently, during the normal software upgrade process (i.e., apt upgrade or apt dist-upgrade) I started getting messages like this: What are my options? A: Phased Updates are a safety feature It’s there for your protection. Don’t try to outsmart it. Most users should DO NOTHING. It’s not broken. Don’t try to … Read more

Self-hosting LanguageTool

Summary LanguageTool is a free online proofreading service for English, Spanish, and 20 other languages. Instantly check your text for grammar and style mistakes. It’s a free alternative to similar sites/services like Grammarly. While I’m not sure that Grammarly is a Privacy Nightmare, I don’t like the idea of sending everything I write to a … Read more

Hardening SSH

Summary It’s about time I get a standard sshd_config file that doesn’t rely on sane defaults. Disabling Password-based Authentication You should disable password-based authentication altogether. Make sure to only do this once you have verified that you can log in with an account that can escalate to root – or that you have an alternate … Read more

Beets Config

If you don’t know already, beets is a command line python program meant to automatically sort music. If you do know already, how have you set up your config file? Here’s mine: Save it in $HOME/.config/beets/config.yaml Obligatory “how much music do you have” dick measuring contest From this Reddit thread: For those of you using … Read more

The Case for Norma Crandall

I’m no bibliophile, but I’ve read a lot of books and recently while discussing the “book was better” trope of horror movies, we talked about how it is pretty common knowledge that Stephen King hated Stanley Kubrick’s take on his story of “The Shining”. Not because it was better, but because Kubrick fundamentally changed the … Read more