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Random morning photo.

So we made it. It’s a refreshing change to back on our old stomping ground. We had a nice evening walk along the beach last night. Off to visit friends on their house boat on a nearby creek today and hopefully just chill the rest of the day.

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Believed to have been abandoned by British General Edward Braddock in 1755 during the French and Indian War, this cannon was placed here in 1915 at the intersection of what is now Braddock and Russell Roads.

““We go on—not upward, not forward, but just on…”” — Soham AI

““To stop when silence is clearer than words…”” — Soham AI

““Peace of mind does not need to be earned or deserved, only noticed.”” — Robert Saltzman

#Lubuntu

Linux I like to always have alternatives not only for the distribution i'm using but also the desktop environment and i've kept a keen eye on the wayland efforts of Xfce, Budgie and LxQt and i came across a post by Steven mentioning the Lubuntu blog post about their 25.04 release and i was thoroughly impressed with how detailed and well written it was. So a couple of days ago i setup Lubuntu on a spare laptop even though they do not offer wayland yet i still wanted to try it out because of the informative and dare i say inviting blog post and like i always say; defaults actually matter a whole lot and i find them to be really nice here. I actually opted for the previous 24.10 release as i want to try out the upgrade process after the reported upgrade issues are sorted out and upgrades are...

On the road with wife and dog.

I’m thinking of upping my exercise routine to two strength workouts a day, one in the morning and late afternoon (targeting different parts). Followed by a rest day where I concentrate just on core (abs). I’ve been doing good for the past 7 weeks, so I’m careful with where to go next here. Worth trying and see where it goes.

I've been using lazygit more and more and have hardly touched my usual go to app for Git stuff, Fork. Really love it. There are a few things I still need to figure out. So far so good.

My current motto: "Keep it minimal."

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Listened to my latest album purchase while making dinner tonight.

Quick App Launcher - Pro, A Well Thought Alternative

There are various ways to launch apps on a Mac. The most obvious and the one used most by new Mac users is clicking icons in the dock. Apple also has Launchpad another built-in launcher. More advanced users sometimes move on to keyboard-driven methods, starting with Spotlight and advanced launchers like Raycast or Alfred, although some don't want the added system overhead or extra features. Some like the convenience of a menubar launcher like Xmenu or Folder Peek. Lately, there has also been a growing popularity among so-called pie menu launchers like Pieoneer. Another choice now available from developer Baser Kandehir, is a well-thought-out pop-up palette of applications through which you can sort in various ways. The app is called Quick App Launcher - Pro. You summon the application window with a user-defined keyboard shortcut or by clicking its icon in the menu bar. You can choose one of three...

““At some point, we realise all our little hopes and dreams for the web are pointless because it’s all out of our hands. And yet we can’t shake those dreams off, because it seems to us like the culture is so busted that the only way to connect it up is through the open web. Because the open web is open access and some form of the web pervades most of our lives now.”” Warren Ellis, Finding the web

The sense, the feeling of  ‘I am, this is, I am this’ is not the same as the sense of ‘me, self and ego’. It’s the difference between feeling life and feeling something about life.

Being Awake

[YouTube Video] Shiv Shengupta, Dark Knight of the Soul

Five hour drive across the country tomorrow back to where we used to live. A few days catching up with old friends which we’re really looking forward to. I’m also catching up with some individuals I used to support which will be fun!

Practice is not immediately remedial or about making yourself feel better right now. It is simply seeing and recognising with clear honesty whatever is happening right now, accepting it and being grateful for it.

The irony of starting a blog about my work just as I’m about to go on holiday is not lost on me. Tomorrow my wife and I are going back to visit old friends where we used to live. I’m also going to be paying a visit to a woman I used to support who now lives on her own and also a whole bunch of guys and gals I used to support who all live on one residential site. I can’t wait, I’m really excited. I know it’s going to be a lot of fun 😀 Back to work next week…

I accompanied my son as he drove to the optician’s to collect his new specs, which look good on him. Mowed the lawn and just got back from a run over the fields. Great view of the mountains in the distance. Just looked down and noticed my legs are completely green from the grass cuttings.

If you are looking for a Google Map alternative then Mapy.com is the perfect app to try. It is also suitable for people that like cycling and walking.

Discipline Equals Freedom. This idea is so underrated. 

Short Ruby Newsletter - Highlights from Edition 132

Short Ruby Newsletter - edition 132 highlightsThe one with several Ruby releases: 3.4.3, 3.5.0-preview1, and JRuby 10, where Marco Roth announces herb tools and Matz suggests that Ruby 4.0 may be released this Christmas. 🚀 Launches • Rails Designer launched a new book about JavaScript for Rails Developers is out now. Inside the newsletter, you can find a discount code for 10% • Matt Solt announced the launch of a new AI newsletter - RoboRuby - Ruby AI News • Marco Roth launched a new project → herb - “Powerful and seamless HTML-aware ERB parsing and tooling“ 📅 Events: • Friendly.rb announced that their CFP is open until July 1st • Irina Nazarova invited Ruby developers to join the SF Ruby meetup on Wednesday, April 23, at Sentry HQ • Javi Ramirez announced he's organizing a Ruby on Rails meetup near the beach in Lisbon in two weeks • Vienna.Rb...

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This heron was posing as we walked the dogs by the river. If you look closely you’ll see he’s standing among turtles sunning on the log.

A nice meditation group this evening. Glorious birdsong infused the sit throughout as the sun set. Meditation/ contemplation asks questions with no answers. Or perhaps infinite answers…

Bit of an intense day today. Waaaay too much caffeine (even for me) too early did me in and I felt anxious and jittery for most of it. Off to meditation later which will be interesting…

My Easter holidays are coming to an end. Needless to say, I enjoyed spending time with friends and family. Unfortunately I have to go back to work tomorrow. Anyway, it will be a short week as another long weekend is coming up. Sounds good enough... 😅

Free App List Number 4

This is the fourth collection of free apps reviewed on AppAddict. Links to the first three collections are posted below. I've downloaded and installed each of these on my Mac. I've added many of these apps to my workflows for getting stuff done. Previous Collections• A Curated Collection of Free Apps • Another Curated Collection of Free Software • AppAddict Free App List Number 3 Free App List Number 4• Permissions Reset 2 - Free Troubleshooting Tool  • Zotero as a Free PDF Library Manager  • UTM for Virtualization  • rclone - An Easy to Use and Powerful CLI  • Syncthing - Free and Open-Source Cross Platform File Sharing  • Convert CSV Files to Markdown  • Hop to Desk, a Free and Open-Source Encrypted Remote Access Solution  • One For the Techies - SwiftDefaultApps  • Digikam is Replacing Apple Photos, Google Photos and Amazon Photos For Me  • Change the...

Week in Review - April 20th, 2025

👽 Personal • Wow, what a frustrating and strange week it was. It all began on Monday, when I got to work and it smelled horrific. I work in an almost 200 year old building, so they have issues with the plumbing at times (and the water is not safe to drink) and I guess there was some sort of overflow. I was able to work from home for a couple days, so that was nice, but I began dealing with some allergies and sinus issues, no doubt exacerbated by the immense stress I've been under. By Wednesday night, I was done, so I called out of work on Thursday with hopes of enjoying and stress-free four day weekend.  • Sadly, it wasn't as relaxing as I wanted. I did come to some serious realizations about some changes I need to make, and just as I was gearing up to...

“The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.” — William Hazlitt

The weather is as impressively dank and grey today as it was clear and bright yesterday but in no way less impactful for that. I still noticed the word 'wow' come out of my mouth.

Our house is a bit of a mess after Easter lunch & dinner with the whole family. Today's mood is: 😱

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Hoppy Easter

Stunning walk with my wife into the wilderness today. Glorious sunshine pouring down onto a few walkers and wild horses, the only inhabitants of the hills.

The house is asleep apart from me and the dog. The church gate creeks across the lane. Cars hiss past the corner. The washing machine gently churns. Everything can wait until it happens.

Great lake trip Yesterday with my relatives. Even though the weather wasn't great, we all had some special moments together. At the end of the day I was a bit tired but very happy with what we did.

The Canon 20D

Back in 2005, right before we left to visit my in-laws, I bought a Canon 20D with the Canon f/1.8 "plastic fantastic" 50mm prime lens (so called because it is basically made of plastic other than the lens elements). This lens takes spectacular photos with beautiful bokeh. I took a series of photos while at the in-laws in April of that year that are still some of my favorites to this day because of that lens.